ZCZC
BFF-27
HEALTH-VIRUS-LEBANON-WORLDBANK-VACCINE
World Bank to fund Covid vaccine rollout in Lebanon
WASHINGTON, Jan 21, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – The World Bank announced Thursday it
will put $34 million into a program to provide coronavirus vaccines for more
than two million people in Lebanon, which is experiencing a major surge in
Covid-19 cases.
“This is the first World Bank-financed operation to fund the procurement of
Covid-19 vaccines,” the Washington-based institution said in a statement.
Lebanon, a country of more than six million, has been logging some 5,500
cases a day since the start of the year, the Bank said.
It entered a strict 11-day lockdown last Thursday after recording a 70-
percent uptick in infections in one of the steepest increases in transmission
worldwide.
Under the World Bank plan, the vaccines would arrive by early February. It
did not specify which lab it was partnering with.
The $34 million are being reallocated under the existing Lebanon Health
Resilience Project, funded by the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development.
Beyond the human toll, the pandemic is exacerbating the economic crisis in
Lebanon, the World Bank said.
The vaccine will go first to “priority groups”: high-risk health care
workers, those over the age of 65, “epidemiological and surveillance staff,”
and those aged 55-64 with underlying conditions.
“Fair, broad, and fast access to Covid-19 vaccines is critical to
protecting lives and supporting economic recovery,” World Bank President
David Malpass said.
“This is an important first operation and I look forward to continuing our
support to many more countries in their vaccination efforts.”
The vaccination drive will be carried out in coordination with the Lebanese
government, the statement read.
BSS/AFP/RY/11:35hrs