Lebanon’s private and public sectors cooperate on COVID-19 vaccination campaign

Lebanon’s private and public sectors cooperate on COVID-19 vaccination campaign

Lebanon's private and public healthcare sectors are cooperating to speed up the country's vaccination campaign. What was a sluggish rollout program accelerated after the government allowed private pharmaceutical companies to import doses at their own expense.

Local media reported that the specialist distributor Fattal will import vaccine for the private sector at a rate of $24 for two doses. The total number of doses ordered is still unclear.

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Fattal is the one of multiple private companies which have received approval from the Ministry of Health to import vaccines. The first pharmaceutical company to secure doses for the private sector was Pharmaline which secured one million doses of the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine at a price of $38 for two doses.

The Lebanese government is aiming to reach herd immunity by the end of 2021 in efforts to end the coronavirus pandemic which has further stagnated Lebanon's crisis-hit economy. The small Mediterranean country has recorded over 516,600 COVID-19 cases and 7057 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

Lebanon started its COVID-19 vaccination campaign in February, free of charge for citizens who registered on an online platform. This was introduced after it