Lebanese President Michel Aoun, his wife, and some of his close staffers have been vaccinated against coronavirus (COVID-19), according to the Lebanese Presidency.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the President’s press office announced that President Aoun and the Lebanese First Lady, Nadia Aoun, had received the vaccine against the virus.
The statement said vaccine doses were also administered to “ten members of the close and accompanying team of the President, who had registered their names according to the rules on the vaccination platform.”
On the occasion, President Aoun was quoted by the statement as urging the Lebanese people to “register their names on the platform to receive the vaccine and contribute to combating the spread of this pandemic.”
The announcement happened to come hours after the controversial vaccination of more than a dozen Lebanese MPs at Parliament, which quickly generated a backlash that almost caused the head of the national COVID-19 vaccine committee to resign.
The news also prompted a comment from the World Bank’s regional director for the Middle East, who said the World Bank may suspend financing for the vaccines in Lebanon if a violation of the Bank’s terms and conditions was confirmed.
It’s worth noting that 10 employees in the Presidential Palace had tested positive for COVID-19 back in September, shortly after the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, got infected.
Rumors followed about the President also getting infected at the time as well, but they were denied by his press office shortly afterward.
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