Morocco Ranks in Global Top 10 for COVID-19 Vaccination Progress

With nearly 4.3 million people, or 11.5% of the population vaccinated with at least the first dose, Morocco stands out among the top 10 in the world in terms of the vaccinated population compared to the number of inhabitants. Compared to the European Union countries, only Hungary and Finland surpass Morocco, which is still ahead of the major EU countries that have reached around 9%, informs Slate. An exploit achieved thanks to good anticipation of needs.

As early as July 2020, Morocco signed an agreement with China for the installation of a vaccine factory in the north of the country. On August 20, the kingdom signed an agreement with Sinopharm for the delivery of 40.5 million doses of the Chinese vaccine and on September 18, another contract with the British AstraZeneca for the delivery of an additional 25.5 million doses. In addition, to avoid a stock shortage, the government is currently in full negotiation with the Russians to obtain 1 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine, not to mention the ongoing discussions with the South Korean SK Bioscience and the American Johnson & Johnson.

The feat in the vaccination campaign is also due to the distribution strategy put in place with the mobilization of 24,000 health professionals, the free vaccination, the booking of appointments by free SMS and others. But for the past few days, vaccine stocks have been running out and the campaign is slowing down. However, for demographic reasons, the likely delays in the delivery of doses to Morocco will have less consequences than in Europe. Moreover, the mortality due to the pandemic has considerably decreased in Morocco since late January, i.e. at the beginning of the vaccination.

Thus, the number of new daily deaths has dropped from 22 to 7. Whereas in France, already in early January, the new deaths had decreased by only 20%, i.e. 260 deaths per day.