Spokesperson of the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC), Dr. Nazla Rafeeq has said that there are elderly and high-risk people that has not gotten the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

At the HEOC press conference last night, Dr. Nazla said that a large portion of the population needs to get vaccinated to be protected from COVID-19. And while the vaccination program is underway, they have noticed less support from some categories.

She said that vaccinations have been opened for everyone above the age of 18 and some people are still reluctant to come.

The HEOC Spokesperson said that there are elderly and high-risk members of the population without getting vaccinated and she urged them to get vaccinated soon.

Maldives launched its COVID-19 vaccination program on 1 February 2021 with the Covishield vaccine donated by the Indian government. So far, 137,124 people have received the first dose of the vaccine.