Iraq sees low Covid vaccine turnout despite recent record-high cases
Iraq sees low Covid vaccine turnout despite recent record-high cases
Vaccination rates in Iraq are 'very low', health committee member Jawad Al-Moussawi told °®Âþµº's Arabic-language sister site.
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The Iraqi government is holding vaccination drives across the country [Getty]
Iraqis are not turning out to receive their despite the jab's availability, a member of Iraqi parliament's health committee told °®Âþµº's Arabic-language sister site on Monday.
rates inare "very low", committee member Jawad Al-Moussawi told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, because of a lack of confidence in government actions and misinformation about the vaccine.
Al-Moussawi told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that some health centres do not have the vaccine doses they need – despite doses now pouring into Iraq.
Public health director Riyad Al-Halfi state newspaper Al-Sabaah that Iraq had received two million new doses of the Sinopharm and Pfizer vaccines on Monday, to be distributed throughout the country.
The government has vaccination drives across Iraq, including the densely populated Baghdad suburb of Sadr City.
Iraq saw a record-high of 13,525 cases in 24 hours at the end of last month. Cases have in the past few days dropped to below 10,000 a day.
Coronavirus wards in hospitals are at capacity, Al-Halfi said.
There are fears that the virus will spread further after the education ministry announced that would reopen after the summer holidays.
Upcoming religious pilgrimages to Najaf and Karbala might also cause case numbers to rise.
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