Head of the national vaccine committee, Abdul Rahman Bizri, told LBCI that a hotline will be launched on Thursday to allow people to register for the COVID-19 vaccination..
Bizri emphasized that the vaccines are expected to arrive in Lebanon on Saturday and Monday. Meanwhile, Lebanese residents who wish to get vaccinated can reserve their spot through the vaccine registration platform.
To reach herd immunity among the Lebanese society, Lebanon needs to ensure the vaccination of 80% of its population. However, that could only be ensured depending on the number of vaccines that will arrive, their quality, and the rate of willingness among the Lebanese to take the vaccine.
All in all, to reach 80% immunity, it will probably take 6 to 9 months, according to Bizri.
The first shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is expected to amount to 28,080 jabs from a total of 2.1 million doses reserved by the Lebanese government, with similar weekly shipments during late March.
In January, the Lebanese government stated that the Pfizer vaccines will be complemented with another 2.7 million doses from an UN-led program supporting countries in need.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry previously announced that it would be receiving a total of 249,000 jabs by the end of March.
Lebanon will launch its COVID-19 inoculation campaign on Sunday after receiving the first Pfizer jabs, as officials are hoping to reach herd immunity by the end of the year or early 2022.
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