The head of Lebanon‘s national coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination committee announced on Tuesday that he would resign after Lebanese officials were vaccinated in violation of the country’s national vaccination plan.
Speaking to local media, Abdel Rahman Bizri said he would hold a press conference in the afternoon to announce his resignation, in response to the vaccination of several MPs who hadn’t registered on the Health Ministry’s dedicated electronic platform.
“I will announce my resignation from the National Committee for Coronavirus Vaccination during a press conference I will hold at 2 PM, in light of the vaccination of a number of MPs without approval from the National Committee,” Bizri told LBCI.
In a previous statement in January, Bizri had noted that the national platform’s importance manifested in its goal of standardizing information about COVID-19 vaccines and “preventing fraud and misuse.”
“It also achieves transparency and priority for receiving the vaccine away from political and sectarian interference,” he had said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Saroj Kumar Jha, World Bank Regional Director for the Middle East, said the World Bank might suspend its funding of vaccines for Lebanon, following reports that Lebanese MPs over 75 would be vaccinated at Parliament.
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Editor’s Note: 23-02-2021 3:50 pm (Beirut): Abdel Rahman Bizri withdrew his resignation during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.