Rojava to receive 90,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine within weeks: WHO

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria (Rojava) will receive 90,000 free doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in about a month, part of a World Health Organization (WHO) global vaccine sharing scheme. 

A total of 912,000 doses of the vaccine have been allocated to Syria through the COVAX system. Of this 90,000 doses will be given to Rojava and 224,000 will be delivered to Turkish-held areas in northwest Syria through Turkish borders, head of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Syria Akjemal Magtymova told Rudaw English late Friday. 

The vaccine will be delivered “not earlier than four weeks” from now, according to the WHO official. Her organization will help coordinate on the ground with the UN’s children’s agency (UNICEF). 

“First phase is only for health workers ... because heath workers are meeting COVID patients every day. Then, we will move to elder people who are at high risk of complications. Then we will move to those with diseases,” Magtymova explained about how the vaccination program will roll out. 

The COVAX system was created for nations and people who may not otherwise be able to access vaccines, such as refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs), and asylum seekers. It is expected to amount to 5 percent of the vaccine doses supplied globally. 

Rojava recorded 41 new cases of coronavirus and three deaths on Friday, bringing the total number of cases up to 9,018 infections and 353 deaths.

Syria has so far received just 5,000 doses of vaccine, China’s Sinopharm donated by Beijing.