World Bank fury as Lebanon MPs jump vaccine queue

World Bank fury as Lebanon MPs jump vaccine queue

BEIRUT: Lebanese politicians have been accused of jumping the queue for the coronavirus vaccine, with the World Bank on Tuesday joining a chorus of condemnation and threatening to suspend its multi-million-dollar backing for the country's vaccination drive. The controversy erupted after some MPs secretly received the COVID-19 jab in the parliament building “” despite not being in priority groups. Allegations of favoritism mounted after it was revealed President Michel Aoun and his wife were inoculated last Friday by a medical team sent to the Baabda Palace. The claims added to widespread frustration among Lebanese over delays and breaches of the vaccination campaign. World Bank regional director Saroj Kumar Jha tweeted that if the allegations were shown to be true, "it would be a breach of the national plan." He warned that the bank may suspend financing for vaccines and support for the country's coronavirus response. "I appeal to all, I mean all, regardless of your position, to please register and wait for your turn," Jha added. The World Bank's reallocation of $34 million has enabled Lebanon to receive its first two batches of about 60, 000 Pfizer-BioNTech doses this month. The bank had said it would monitor the vaccine rollout