Muscat: The number of patients in Oman hospitals for COVID-19 treatment has come down to just over 100.
On Thursday, only 12 people were hospitalized in 24 hours, taking the total number of inpatients in hospitals to 103, including 43in Intensive Care Units (ICUs).
The Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 184 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases registered in the Sultanate to 127, 019.
MOH reported three COVID-19-related deaths, taking the total death toll to 1,483.
The total recovery cases reached 119,009, which is 93.7 percent of the total cases reported so far.
Oman has joined the Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunisation (COVAX), which will provide 10 percent of the required COVID-19 vaccine by the year-end, said the Ministry of Health on Sunday.
The Ministry of Health (MOH), represented by the Directorate General of Pharmaceutical Affairs and Drug Control, has issued a license to import the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use.
Meanwhile, COVAX, the global initiative to ensure rapid and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all countries, regardless of income level, today announced that it had arrangements in place to access nearly two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine candidates, on behalf of 190 participating economies.
COVAX has guaranteed access to a portion of the first wave of production, followed by volume scales as further supply becomes available. The arrangements announced today will enable all participating economies to have access to doses in the first half of 2021, with first deliveries anticipated to begin in the first quarter of 2021 – contingent upon regulatory approvals and countries’ readiness for delivery.
Given these are arrangements for 2 billion doses of vaccine candidates which are still under development, COVAX will continue developing its portfolio: this will be critical to achieving its goal of securing access to 2 billion doses of safe and effective, approved vaccines that are suitable for all participants’ contexts, and available by the end of 2021. However, today’s announcements offer the clearest pathway yet to end the acute phase of the pandemic by protecting the most vulnerable populations around the world. This includes delivering at least 1.3 billion donor-funded doses of approved vaccines in 2021 to the 92 low- and middle-income economies eligible for the COVAX AMC.
The new deals announced today include the signing of an advance purchase agreement with AstraZeneca for 170 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford candidate, and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Johnson & Johnson for 500 million doses of the Janssen candidate, which is currently being investigated as a single dose vaccine.. These deals are in addition to existing agreements COVAX has with the Serum Institute of India (SII) for 200 million doses – with options for up to 900 million doses more – of either the AstraZeneca/Oxford or Novavax candidates, as well as a statement of intent for 200 million doses of the Sanofi/GSK vaccine candidate.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
