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Iraq
A vial of the Pfizer vaccine against the COVID-19 coronavirus is displayed at Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel on December 20, 2020. Photo: Jack Guez/ AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraq has signed a deal with the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to buy 1.5 million doses of coronavirus vaccine set to arrive in early 2021, the spokesperson for the health ministry has told Rudaw.
“Iraq has officially reached a deal with Pfizer for 1.5 million doses of coronavirus vaccine to arrive in early New Year,” spokesperson Saif Badr told Rudaw on Monday night.
Iraq’s government is “in contact” with other pharmaceutical companies to buy more vaccines, Badr said.
With two doses needed for a patient to become fully immune to the virus, the delivery will be enough for 750,000 of Iraq’s 39 million strong population to get vaccinated.
The Kurdistan Region will receive a share of the doses, Badr added, though he did not specify how much.
Riyadh al-Halafi, head of the General Health Directorate at the Iraqi health ministry told state media on December 2 that the first batch of the vaccines are expected to arrive in March.
Military forces, health workers, and at-risk groups will be prioritized when the vaccine is distributed, Badr told Rudaw English in late October.
President Barham Salih told the UN earlier this month that "Iraq is among the countries whose governments will purchase and distribute the vaccine free of charge to their citizens.”
The Iraqi government has committed $170 million to secure a coronavirus vaccine, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Iraq is among the countries that is participating in COVAX. The country has committed $170 million towards this effort, and it is among the first countries to benefit from the vaccine,” reads a factsheet from WHO.
COVAX is a global initiative bringing together governments and vaccine producers to ensure an eventual vaccine reaches those in greatest need, “regardless of their wealth.”
Iraq has recorded 585,345 coronavirus cases, including 522,637 recoveries and 12,710 deaths, since the pandemic began.
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