Coming Soon: COVID-19 Vaccination Heads to Lebanon

 


As COVID-19 continues to spread out in the Lebanese region, the bad economic situation follows the last to make the situation goes worse. The country keeps on pandemic with the hope reaching the save point.

Under these bad circumstances, some good things dominate the area where Lebanon takes step closer to obtaining COVID-19 vaccine maybe the status will go forward if many people get healed and return back to their normal life.

Likewise, many countries that started having the vaccine and others that are registered to offer it to their citizens, the Lebanese ministry of health announced that the first batch of COVID-19 will arrive by mid-February 2021.

In the past few months, the number of Corona patients was increased horribly to reach the peak after the New Year’s Eve where pubs, casinos and restaurants were totally opened thus the infection circulated through many fields and different ages.

Therefore, the absence of conscious led to serious troubles that the Lebanese people paid the price: the hospitals were full of patients, the Oxygen was deprived and there was no more place to recover.

It was not enough, the closure of departments in the country drove persons to pay more attention because the critical number made them more afraid especially after losing many lives.

The Lebanese should take a significant action and so they will success twice one they take care of themselves and they will keep on the economic and social fields that they need to stay alive.


A Step Toward the Vaccine

Hamad Hassan, the caretaker health minister announced the upcoming of the vaccine by the 15th of February and he put a plan that will carry out all the necessary steps.

First of all, the communication will be directly with the hospitals and health cares that concern on Corona recovery system where people will be injected there.

Then, the vaccine will be distributed to vulnerable groups starting front-line health workers, other essential workers, elderly people over age 75 followed by those over age 65 and so on, later, those with underlying health conditions as well as refugees, migrant and undocumented workers.

Aya Majzoub, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch said:” it is critical for leaders to clearly communicate the government’s vaccination strategy, ensure that vaccine access is not determined by political connections or socio-economic status, and apply transparent, evidence-based distribution criteria equally to everyone in Lebanon.”

Therefore, the real test will be translating into action hoping that the end of this suffer will see the light.

In addition, Hassan announced the outlines of the government’s strategy saying that everyone is Lebanon will take the vaccine regardless of the nationality that means the refugees too will be on the list of injections.

Knowing that Lebanon although its small area, add to its population, it has an estimated 1.7 million refugees and asylum seekers and 400,000 migrant workers.

As main goal of the plan, the vaccine will be delivered to 80% of the population by the end of 2021. However, the goal is enhanced to state the intention to purchase 6.3 million doses at least for the under half of the country’s population.

 

The Presented Problem

Dr. Georges Ghanem, the chief medical officer of the LAU Medical Center-Risk Hospital, one of Lebanon’s largest private hospitals and one of the 42 vaccination centers said that” we do not have a clear operational roadmap for the vaccination campaign. We have plan of principles but not operational on the ground-plan.”

In the other meaning, Ghanem claimed that they do not know what software vaccination centers will use to register and there is absence of appointments’ schedule and no trained staff to use the system.

Furthermore, Dr. Hassan Wazni, director-general of the Nabatieh Governmental Hospital in South Lebanon and also one of the most important vaccination centers said that “we have so far not received and implementation plan”

And he added that the Health Ministry had not provided lists of people prioritized for vaccination, which vaccine will be first received, the number of vaccines the hospital will receive, the number of expected recipients and whether the vaccine will be stored in Beirut or at the hospital.

The serious conclusion that takes place here is, the Lebanese Government sets a plan to bring vaccine and to whom will be delivered but they do not actually put a written and an operational plan to start up.

After managing the Public Lebanese Hospitals in Lebanon, the directors have the same claim:” we are currently filling forms and questionnaires with information about our capacities” and they do not receive any further information beyond the fact that they are a vaccination center.


People Between Accepting and Refusing

The most common problem that is facing the citizens is the absence of nation-wide awareness campaigns where people are completely lost between taking the vaccination and not.

Dr. Firas Abiad, the head of Rafik Hariri Hospital, Lebanon’s biggest public hospital and the most important vaccination centers that started taking patients from the beginning had the opinion of people:

“Whether people will accept the vaccine is a major concern and if people refuse, you are still looking at a group of people where the virus can still spread and run the risk of mutation. So, my question is, with the vaccine arriving within three weeks, where are the awareness campaign?”

Finally, The Lebanese authorities should take immediate steps to build public confidence in vaccines by ensuring many necessary things: gather information about clinical trial data and possible side effects, counter misinformation, and underscore the public health importance of including everyone.

Human rights obligations related to health, life and adequate standards of living should be transparent and made on the basis of medical and public health criteria.

Plan of the upcoming vaccination should be taking into action directly before the middle of February in order to be fully prepared in addition to preparing the staff and the centers very well to receive the large amounts of vaccines.

 

Written by - Rayan Issa

Edited by - Adrija Saha