Albania Starts COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign

TIRANA, January 11

Albania’s coronavirus vaccination campaign started on Monday as frontline doctor Najada Como took a break from her rounds at the COVID hospital to get vaccinated.
Around 975 vaccine doses have arrived in Albania from an undisclosed EU country and 10,750 jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech are expected to arrive by the third week of January, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Monday during a press conference. Moreover, he added that the same undisclosed country will provide 2,000 doses before the third week of January.
Medical staff and vulnerable categories will be in the high priority group.
The first people to receive the vaccine will be frontline physicians and nurses, teachers, police officers, and the elderly over the age of 75. Currently, the Albanian population aged 75 and over numbers about 170,000.
The vaccination campaign initially started at the center set up at the new stadium in Tirana and other vaccination centers will be created in Vlora and Shkodra under the supervision of physicians and ER specialists. Currently, the stadium vaccination center has a capacity of 60 vaccinations per hour.
PM Rama pointed out that the COVID-19 vaccination is not mandatory but it is highly recommended.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in Albania reached 63,595 as of Sunday. The number of fatalities in the country exceeded 1,240.

Source/Photo Credit: Health Ministry