BEIRUT (Arab News) – Lebanese health authorities have launched a Covid-19 vaccination “marathon” to speed up the country’s inoculation drive, with a day-long campaign offering the shot at 30 different locations.
Long lines of people were seen on Saturday in front of the vaccination centers and more than 7,800 were jabbed within seven hours.
Petra Khoury, who is the prime minister’s adviser for health affairs and heads the National Executive Vaccine Committee, called the turnout “joyful.”
Khoury said the committee would come up with new ideas in the coming weeks to reach people who did not know how to register on the vaccination platform and those who were generally fearful of the vaccine.
Around two dozen centers were offering jabs to people aged between 30 and 65 provided they were not suffering from any health issues or conditions that prevented them from receiving a shot.
The initiative also offered vaccinations to everyone who was registered on the vaccination platform but had yet to receive an appointment and those who were not registered on it, including those without identification papers.
Lebanon began vaccinating its population, including more than 1.5 million Palestinian and Syrian refugees, on Jan. 28 with the elderly and healthcare workers getting priority.
Many of those registered on the platform declined to take the vaccine while others, including the media and university professors, agreed to take it.
Nabil Rizkallah, a member of the National Executive Vaccine Committee, said that 64 percent of those who received the vaccine on Saturday were Lebanese and 36 percent were foreigners.