Algeria launched a coronavirus vaccination campaign on Saturday, a day after receiving its first shipment of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, the government said.
The campaign started in the Blida province, 40 km (25 miles) southwest of the capital, Algiers, where the country’s first confirmed cases of the coronavirus were reported last March.
Algeria received 50 000 doses of Sputnik V on Friday, said Djamel Fourar, head of the Scientific Committee in charge of dealing with the pandemic.
The North African country will receive a shipment of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Sunday, Communication Minister Ammar Belhimer said, without providing the number of doses.
The AstraZeneca shipment will arrive a day before South Africa receives its first batch of its vaccine doses from the company:
The Algerian vaccine campaign will prioritise health workers, people with chronic diseases, and the elderly.
Algeria has so far reported 107 122 confirmed cases of COVD-19, with 2 888 deaths.
