Qatar has rapidly sped up its national vaccination campaign, with health officials predicting an 80% total Covid-19 vaccination rate by October.
As Qatar continues to rapidly supply its population with Covid-19 vaccines, the Gulf state has inaugurated one of the largest vaccination centres in the world, the Qatar Vaccination Center for the Business and Industry Sector.
The new centre is a product of a collaboration between the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC), and Qatar Charity (QC), and with support from the Ministry of Interior and ConocoPhillips-Qatar.
The new centre is dedicated to vaccinating business and industry workers as a part of the country’s phased plan to lift Covid-19 restrictions.
The centre covers more than 300,000 square meters, making it one of the largest vaccination centres in the world.
It hosts over than 300 vaccination stations and 700 staff. The centre has the capacity to administer more than 25,000 doses a day.
In addition to the 15,000 doses provided daily by 27 health centres, this brings up Qatar’s daily vaccination rate to around 40,000 doses a day.
The Minister of Public Health Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari visited the new centre as it began operations on Tuesday.
“The opening of this new vaccination centre highlights Qatar’s commitment to continuing the fast roll-out of the National Covid-19 Vaccination Program which has seen a noticeable increase in the number of vaccinated people,” said the health minister.
A Covid-19 Vaccination Scheduling Unit will also be set up to support the booking and appointment process at the new facility.
The move also comes at a prime time, as both the Lusail drive-though vaccination centre and the Al Wakra drive-through vaccination centre are set to close soon.
The Lusail Covid-19 vaccination centre will cease operations on Wednesday, June 23, while the last day of operations for the Al Wakra Covid-19 drive-through centre will be on June 30.
Similarly, the inoculation facility at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC), initially focused on serving teachers and school administrative staff, will also stop operations on June 29.
Read also: Qatar to provide one million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Pakistan
“The vaccination centre at the Qatar National Convention Center was initially set up to prioritize the vaccination of teachers and school staff. Since opening in February, more than 600,000 people – teachers, school staff and many other eligible members of the community – have been vaccinated at the centre,” said Managing Director of PHCC Dr Mariam Abdulmalik.
In an interview with Qatar Television in June, medical director of Hamad General Hospital Dr. Yousef Al Maslamani said that a 70-80% Covid-19 vaccination rate is likely to be achieved by October.
Half population fully vaccination
Over half of the population— aged 16 and above — have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in Qatar.
Recent statistics from the ministry show that over 1,279,866 people have been fully vaccinated in the country.
According to the figures, 56.9% of those 16 and over have received two doses while 70.6% have received one. The percentage of people over 40 years of age to receive one dose stands at 89% with 79% completing the course.
Meanwhile, 95.8% of those aged 60 and above received the first dose with 90.2% of this age group now fully vaccinated.
So far, 2,908,963 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered to the citizens and residents of Qatar and the number of positive daily cases have continued to decrease.
Phase two
Phase 2 of the gradual lifting of Covid-19 restrictions kicked off in Qatar on Friday following a significant dip in daily and active cases in the last month.
The new eased regulations are part of a four-phase plan introduced by the ministry of health and the ministry of commerce in early May to slowly return to normality.
The regulations include increasing workforce capacity to 80%, allowing kids in malls and souqs again, allowing in-door and out-door weddings with a certain capacity, and allowing vaccinated fans to attend matches and tournaments in the country.
Amusement parks and all entertainment centres are also now open at a capacity not exceeding 30% in open spaces and 20% in closed spaces, provided that 75% of the customers are fully vaccinated.
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