The first vaccines against the coronavirus, arrived Saturday evening in Beirut, were administered Sunday morning at the Rafic Hariri government hospital in Beirut, in the presence of the outgoing Prime Minister, Hassane Diab, who was on a tour there in the company of the outgoing minister of Health, Hamad Hassan.
Mahmoud Hassoun, head of the intensive care unit at Rafic Hariri hospital, the main public establishment mobilized in the fight against the coronavirus, thus becomes the first Lebanese to receive the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine. “We hope this will be the beginning of the end of this epidemic in the country,” he said, according to AFP.
Hassane Diab, who this morning inspected the Covid-19 vaccination center at Rafic Hariri hospital, was received by the head of the national vaccination committee, Dr Abdel Rahman el-Bizri, and the director of the hospital, Dr. Firas Abiad. “The outgoing Prime Minister visited the departments linked to the coronavirus and was informed of the launch of the vaccination process after the arrival of the first batch of vaccines on Saturday,” writes his press office.
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He then addressed the doctors, nurses and health workers saying: “I came today to inspect the center and check that everything is fine. You are the unknown soldiers who have carried a heavy burden for a year, and you have lived up to the responsibilities. You have made a lot of sacrifices and some of you have even paid with your life for your mission of protecting the population against this deadly epidemic “.
“You have priority over us”
“In accordance with the program and schedule of the National Vaccine Committee, I will not be vaccinated today. Because priority is given to you, to the health personnel who must be protected against this danger so that they can fulfill their mission. . You come before me; you have priority over us, just like any other person meeting the priority criteria according to the program established by the committee. God bless you! God bless the elderly and all the Lebanese! ”, A added the outgoing PM, 61.
Hassane Diab also attended the first round of vaccinations which targeted, in addition to the head of the intensive care unit at the hospital, Dr Mahmoud Hassoun, the famous actor Salah Tizani, alias “Abou Salim”, as well as the Dr Firas Abiad.
Outgoing Prime Minister Hassane Diab (2nd from right) with actor Salah Tizani (c) who is one of the first to receive the anti-Covid vaccine in Lebanon on February 14, 2021. Photo Press office by Hassane Diab
“Actions are often better than words. Let’s get vaccinated to protect ourselves and our society”, pleaded Dr Abiad, in a video on Twitter.
The outgoing Minister of Health for his part indicated that, like Hassane Diab, he was not going to receive the vaccine today, not being a priority, and recalling that he had recently contracted the coronavirus, which gave him would grant some temporary immunity. On Twitter, Hamad Hassan encouraged the population to register en masse on the electronic platform provided for people wishing to receive the vaccine, while around 500,000 have already done so, a figure insufficient to reach 80% of a total population of about six million.
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The University Medical Center – Saint-Georges Hospital and the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) also launched their vaccination campaign this morning where the first people concerned are members of the nursing staff and individuals aged 80 years and older.
Lebanon received its first 28,500 doses of the anti-Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer / BioNTech on Saturday, on the eve of the launch of the official vaccination campaign. During the first phase of the campaign, medical staff and people over 75 years old should be vaccinated. The vaccine was eagerly awaited in hopes of curbing the rampant spread of the virus. Widespread distribution is expected to start from Monday and the vaccine will be administered free of charge to both Lebanese and foreign nationals. Doses of the British AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine and Russian Sputnik V are also expected to be received in the coming weeks.
On Friday evening, the World Bank (WB) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) signed a partnership agreement, which will run until December 2021 for the purpose of independently overseeing the vaccination campaign in Lebanon. It is the WB which finances the importation of vaccines. This international control initiative was taken after the Lebanese authorities have lost the confidence of a large part of the Lebanese, who fear that the vaccination campaign is subject to widespread patronage.
Lebanon began its gradual deconfinement on Monday, after three weeks of strict closure. In this context, the total curfew remains in force, but certain sectors have been able to reopen their doors, in particular food stores and banks. This gradual deconfinement will extend over four phases of two weeks each, while the contamination statistics do not seem to be really going down.
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The first vaccines against the coronavirus, arrived Saturday evening in Beirut, were administered Sunday morning at the Rafic Hariri government hospital in Beirut, in the presence of the outgoing Prime Minister, Hassane Diab, who was on a tour there in the company of the outgoing minister of Health, Hamad Hassan. Mahmoud Hassoun, the head of the intensive care unit at the hospital …
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