BEIRUT (AP) – Lebanon on Sunday concluded an agreement with Pfizer for 2.1 million doses of coronavirus vaccine amid the increase in infections that have overwhelmed the country’s healthcare system.
According to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health, the doses will arrive in Lebanon in early February.
The government statement said the Pfizer vaccines would be supplemented with another 2.7 million doses of the UN-led program to cater to countries in need. It does not give a date for the expectation of the doses, but says the agreement was signed in October.
A lawmaker earlier told The Associated Press that the Pfizer deal being negotiated is for $ 18 per dose, a price that takes into account Lebanon’s economic problems and is expected to cover 20% of the population for free. . A World Bank loan should cover most of the costs.
Another two million doses are being negotiated in collaboration with the private sector of Lebanon and the other international pharmaceutical companies that developed the vaccines, the ministry said. It cites Oxford-Astrazeneca and China’s Sinopharm as the international sources.
Lebanon, a country of more than 6 million, including at least 1 million refugees, has seen a huge increase in infections since Christmas and New Year. The boom has overwhelmed hospitals and the healthcare system.
During the holiday season, restrictions waged against the virus for months were facilitated to encourage spending by about 80,000 expatriates who returned home to celebrate it. The pandemic hit Lebanon at a time when it was already struggling with a crippling economic and financial crisis. The combination has caused the country’s currency to tumble, banks to put informal controls on withdrawals and businesses to be closed across the country.
As infections escalated and the ICU beds filled, authorities imposed the strictest exclusion last Thursday, hoping the restrictions that applied until February 1 could limit the increase.
In recent weeks, between 4,000 and 5,000 infections per day have been recorded and an increase in the daily death toll, compared to the numbers which has been around 1,000 since November.
In the first 11 days of January alone, the Lebanese Red Cross said it had transported more than 1,200 COVID-19 patients to hospitals.
Lebanon has so far recorded 249,158 infections and about 1,866 deaths.
Many people expressed concern that the measures had come too late – many hospitals had already reached the maximum capacity for coronavirus patients, some no longer had beds, oxygen tanks and ventilators, while others had stopped elective surgery.
There are already calls to extend the lockout to Valentine’s Day on February 14 – another widely celebrated holiday in Lebanon.
After bureaucratic delays, the country is now hoping for vaccines. Parliament on Friday approved the law enabling the final agreement with Pfizer, which offers pharmaceutical companies guarantees for the deployment of the vaccine in emergencies. Lebanon has at least 12 refrigerators to store the vaccine.
Israel and the Gulf states were the first in the Middle East to secure vaccines and begin vaccinating their populations. Iran, which has struggled with the worst outbreak in the region, announced it was banning the import of American and British vaccines and in December began the human testing phase of its homemade vaccine.
Neighboring Syria, torn apart by the 10-year conflict, is waiting to secure vaccines through the UN-led program, but President Bashar Assad has said he will discuss with ally Russia the acquisition of the vaccine developed there. Iraq has said it will secure Pfizer vaccines early this year, but did not release more information, including vaccination plans.
In Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country, health authorities said earlier this month that the Chinese vaccine had been approved for emergency use, and the vaccination would begin within two weeks. Negotiations are also underway with Pfizer and Oxford-Astrazeneca.