Caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad (left) receives 600,000 cholera vaccine doses provided by the World Health Organization on Nov. 10, 2022. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad announced on Thursday that Lebanon had received 600,000 cholera vaccine doses provided by the World Health Organization in cooperation with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the state-run National News Agency reported.
Abiad said that the vaccines will be stored at the Karantina drug warehouse in preparation for the three-week national vaccination campaign, which will be launched on Saturday. Abiad had previously said that the campaign will allow the vaccination of "70 percent of the targeted population in the most vulnerable areas."
The caretaker health minister had also previously said that the vaccine will be distributed to citizens of all “nationalities in targeted areas," adding that "in these areas, we will conduct a comprehensive survey so that about 100 to 200 teams will walk across neighborhoods, visit homes, house by house, and give the vaccine to everyone except for those under the age of one."
Following Abiad's announcement, the World Health Organization confirmed the target population of the campaign and added that the goal will be to administer 200,000 doses per week.
"These vaccines will be a key tool to boost our response as the cholera outbreak is fast spreading in the country. The arrival of these vaccines in the country is timely," said WHO representative in Lebanon Abdinasir Abubakar.
"Cholera vaccines are a critical tool to protect people and limit the spread of the outbreak, but they are not the only tool we have to combat cholera. We can prevent cholera effectively by improving access to safe water, proper sanitation and hygiene practices," WHO said in a statement.
"Let's also ensure people have access to these preventions."
Since Lebanon recorded its first cholera case in almost three decades on Oct. 5, the brutal illness has killed 18 people, with the number of confirmed infections rising to 490 as of Thursday. Currently, 82 beds are occupied in the country's hospitals to treat patients who have contracted the bacteria, or those suspected of having contracted it.
Following the arrival of the vaccines on Thursday, the director of the Disaster Management Unit at the Lebanese Red Cross, Qassem Shaalan, announced that the organization, within the framework of the national plan to manage the cholera crisis, "has allocated 72 teams on the ground to participate in administering the vaccine, and the implementation of tasks has begun in terms of spreading awareness and motivating prevention."
According to the Health Ministry, the vaccine recipients will not need to register on a platform.
On Wednesday, Lebanon received a promised donation from Egypt of 27 tons of medicines, vaccines and medical supplies needed to combat cholera. France also donated 13,000 cholera vaccines to Lebanon, which will be administered to front-line health workers, according to Abiad, who also pointed out that the vaccines' effectiveness will range from 80 to 85 percent.
The caretaker minister also pointed out that "those who receive the vaccine will have protection against cholera after five to seven days."