[ad_1]
Beirut / Wasim Seif El-Din / Anatolia
Lebanon is witnessing a debate about the members of Parliament receiving the coronavirus vaccine, prompting the World Bank to threaten to suspend funding for the vaccination campaign.
The head of the National Corona Vaccination Committee, Abdel-Rahman Al-Bizri, described during a press conference on Tuesday that MPs obtained the vaccine as an “unacceptable bypass.”
He added: “What happened today is a violation that we cannot tolerate when trying to distinguish a group of people.”
The Ministry of Health established an electronic platform so that citizens can book an appointment to receive the vaccine, without discrimination, according to age group.
Al-Bizri added: “I was in an awkward position after what happened, and the logical reaction was to resign, but the committee members discouraged me from that.”
He added: “The World Bank is watching and recording the violation, while moving to take action.”
Saruj Kumar, the World Bank’s regional director for the Middle East, said in a tweet criticizing MPs receiving the vaccine: “Following confirmation of the violation, the World Bank may suspend funding for vaccines and support the response to the coronavirus in all of Lebanon. “
Kumar added, via “Twitter”: “I appeal to everyone, and I mean everyone, regardless of their position, to register and wait their turn.”
While the Secretary General of Parliament, Adnan Daher, told the press on Tuesday that “the number of parliamentarians who received the vaccine was 16, with the presence of a team from the Ministry of Public Health and the Lebanese Red Cross.”
He stressed that “all the names of the parliamentarians who received the vaccine are on the official platform, according to the age group, and it is their turn. That is what we did.”
According to the strategy of the Lebanese Ministry of Health, priority is given to health workers and those over 75 years of age, followed by those over 65 and those over 54 suffering from chronic diseases.
Since February 13, Lebanon has received 60,000 doses of the vaccine in two batches, within the two million and 100,000 doses of the “Pfizer-Biontech” vaccine, which it will receive with financial assistance from the World Bank.
And the World Bank previously announced that it would monitor vaccination, to ensure that vaccines reach those who need them most.
In total, Lebanon recorded 356,597 cases of the virus, including 4,387 deaths and 272,200 recoveries, according to the Ministry of Health.
The news published on the official page of Anadolu Agency, is an abbreviation of the part of the news that is presented to subscribers through the News Streaming System (HAS). To subscribe to the agency, contact the link below.
[ad_2]
