Bahrain Takes Delivery of AstraZeneca Vaccine From India

Gulf

January 28th, 11:55am

Asharq Al-Awsat

FILE PHOTO: Vials with a sticker reading, "COVID-19 / Coronavirus vaccine / Injection only" and a medical syringe are seen in front of a displayed AstraZeneca logo in this illustration taken October 31, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

Bahrain has received its first delivery of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII), state media said on Thursday. The vaccine will be free to citizens and residents of the Gulf Arab state, which on Jan. 25 approved the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker's vaccine for emergency use, state media said, without providing the number of doses. Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who is also prime minister, thanked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi "and our friends in India for working with us to secure the delivery of" the vaccine, his court said in a Twitter post. Bahrain is one of the most successful countries in rolling out COVID-19 vaccines to its people, ranking fourth per head of population. It is already providing the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and one manufactured by Chinese state-backed pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm free of charge.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2770646/bahrain-takes-delivery-astrazeneca-vaccine-india