Today.Az » Society » WHO rep hails course of vaccination in Azerbaijan
17 September 2021 [14:32] - Today.Az


By Azernews


By Ayya Lmahamad

The larger the scale of vaccination will be, the more positive will be the results of fighting COVID-19, Trend has reported, quoting the head of WHO office in Azerbaijan, Hande Harmanci.

She noted that the vaccination alone is not enough in the fight against coronavirus.

“At the same time, it is also extremely important to wear medical masks indoors and in crowded places,” she added.

The head of the WHO office in Azerbaijan stated that the growth in the number of people vaccinated against COVID-19 in Azerbaijan is encouraging.

“Azerbaijan is among the first countries in the region to start vaccination. About 30 percent of the population has already been vaccinated with both doses of the vaccine,” she added.

Moreover, talking about a new strain of coronavirus infection, Harmanci noted that no cases of the “Mu” COVID-19 strain have been detected in Azerbaijan.

She noted that this strain is most common now mainly in South America.

"Health structures in Azerbaijan regularly conduct research on the issue. In case the fact of infection with "mu" strain of coronavirus is revealed, the public will be informed about it," she stated.

The country started vaccinating citizens using China’s Sinovac on January 18, Vaxzevria vaccine produced by AstraZeneca on May 3, Russia’s Sputnik V on May 18 and US-produced Pfizer on June 7. The country started offering COVID-19 vaccination to citizens aged over 18 from May 10. The nationwide vaccination is free and on a voluntary basis and is in line with the “Strategy of vaccination against COVID-19 in Azerbaijan for 2021-2022”.

At the same time, as of August 9, Azerbaijan started issuing vaccination exemption certificates for citizens with contraindications to coronavirus vaccines approved for use in the country.

It should be noted that as of September 1, residents over 18 are required to have COVID-19 vaccines for use services of public catering establishments, hotels and large trade centers. COVID-19 passports were first applied as of May 31 for entry to sports and recreational centers and later for entry to concerts and weddings. In addition, a COVID-19 passport is required for attending the wedding ceremonies.

Azerbaijan confirmed its first COVID-19 case on February 28, 2020. The country introduced a special quarantine regime on March 25 and took a number of measures to fight COVID-19 in the country.

The quarantine regime in Azerbaijan is extended until 06:00 (GMT +4) December 1.



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