Shkoi Kurdistan-
No one will be vaccinated for coronavirus in the Kurdistan Region without first registering online through an application, warned the health ministry spokesperson on Saturday. A hospital in Erbil has been vaccinating people without pre-registration, leading to long queues upon the arrival of the much-sought after Pfizer vaccine.
“Previously, some people were vaccinated without pre-registration on the app dedicated for coronavirus vaccines, because demand for the vaccine was low . However, today no one can receive the jab without registering on the app, because demand for the vaccine has increased,” spokesperson Aso Hawezi said.
More than 54,000 doses of Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer vaccines have arrived in Kurdistan, but only 46,000 people have registered so far, Hawezi said, adding that they will receive a new batch of Sinopharm next week.
Despite several calls from officials, people in the Kurdistan Region have been reluctant to take the AstraZeneca vaccine after some European countries suspended its use over blood clot fears. “All the vaccines are effective and good,” said Hawezi, blaming the media for creating distrust in the vaccine.
Crowds of people waited in front of Erbil’s Rizgari Hospital – dedicated to the Pfizer vaccination – to receive the American vaccine, but most returned home without being vaccinated. Several people have claimed that the hospital’s vaccines were not fairly allocated.
Dlovan Mohammed, head of Erbil health directorate, told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman on Saturday that they have run out of Pfizer and Sinopharm doses, adding that out of 19,500 doses of the three types of the vaccines only nearly 4,500 doses of AstraZeneca have remained.
He also said that they will receive 10 batches of Pfizer doses in the coming eight weeks, receiving 1,170 each time.
The Kurdistan Region recorded 645 new coronavirus cases, 496 recoveries, and 12 deaths on Saturday. Since the start of the pandemic, the Region has registered 138,222 cases and 3,869 deaths.
