Morocco expects that the population will start receiving shots of a coronavirus vaccine developed by Chinese pharma giant Sinopharm's subsidiary, CNBG, in mid-December, Health Minister Khalid Ait Taleb told Sputnik in an interview
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th November, 2020) Morocco expects that the population will start receiving shots of a coronavirus vaccine developed by Chinese pharma giant Sinopharm's subsidiary, CNBG, in mid-December, Health Minister Khalid Ait Taleb told Sputnik in an interview.
"We are doing our best to start it in mid-December," Taleb said when asked when the inoculation with the Chinese vaccine will start following its phase 3 trials in the country.
The minister noted that Morocco wanted the vaccination campaign to be very short, span no more than three months and involve 80 percent of people aged over 18. Risk groups should get jabs first.
According to the top health official, vaccination will be largely sponsored by the state.
"It will be free for the poor and those who are at risk, and the rest of the citizens will receive compensation. It may well be that it will be free for the entire population, but at the moment nothing has been decided yet, since negotiations are still ongoing," Taleb stated.
The minister himself is planning to get an inoculation with the Sinopharm vaccine.
From the beginning, the country has worked to diversify vaccine deliveries. According to the minister, they were mulling vaccine candidates from several manufacturers and, in the end, chose to work with Sinopharm and UK-Swedish multinational AstraZeneca.
