Pfizer-BioNTec delays won’t affect Bahrain's ongoing inoculation: Ministry

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

There will be a delay in the arrival of vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTec in Bahrain, said the Ministry of Health.

The ministry said the vaccine was scheduled to arrive this month but has been postponed to another date.

“This is due to delay in production and supply process from the manufacturer’s side,” the ministry statement said.

The pharmaceutical giant earlier said it is reducing the deliveries of its Covid vaccine to the UK and Europe, starting next week, while it upgrades its production capacity.

The upgrades, the company said, will allow it to produce 2 billion vaccine doses per year, up from 1.3 billion currently.

The US company has also warned that estimated volumes of doses delivered to each country “may need to be adjusted.”

Bahrain’s Health Ministry said that the rescheduling of the delivery of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses will not disrupt the ongoing inoculation programme.

Bahrain aims to vaccinate all above 18 years of age at the rate of 5,000 people per day, which will be raised to 10,000 at a later stage.

Vaccines will reach a total of 1.4 million people.

The vaccination is available free of charge to all citizens and residents.

The ministry also affirmed that delay will not affect “citizens and residents receiving the second dose of the vaccine.”

There, however, is no confirmation available on the new delivery schedule.

The company, the ministry said, has informed countries that it has expanded its production and manufacturing of vaccines to cover global demands.

Bahrain was one of the first countries globally to order vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, in line with comprehensive national efforts to combat COVID-19.

Until 9 pm on January 16, 137,159 people have been vaccinated in Bahrain.

Britain has ordered 30m doses of the Pfizer vaccine — enough to vaccinate 15m people — while the EU last week upped its order to 600m doses of the jab.

There is no information available on the number of doses Bahrain has ordered.

Bahrain had also granted emergency-use authorisation for a Chinese vaccine made by Sinopharm.