An ethnic health network in Karenni State cooperating with Burma’s interim government plans to inoculate tens of thousands of civilians.

According to Khoon Philip, director of Civil Health and Development Network (CHDN) and member of the newly formed COVID-19 Task Force (CTF), there is about 80,000 eligible to be vaccinated of 160,000 adults living in areas controlled by ethnic armed organisations (EAOs).

Because of side effects caused by the vaccine, half of the adult population can not be inoculated.

CHDN compiled the list from residents living in Than Tawng Gyi Township, in Karenni State, and Pekon Township, in southern Shan State.

Aung San Myint, head of Karenni COVID-19 Pandemic Prevention Committee, informed Kantarawaddy Times they will vaccinate villagers and others who fled to the border areas after joining the Civil Disobedience Movement.

The National Unity Government (NUG) recently announced plans to acquire enough vaccinations to inoculate 20-percent of Burma’s 50.05M population.

After accomplishing this, the interim government, formed by lawmakers ousted by the military regime, will begin in the country’s borderlands.

Khoon Philip said health workers and the elderly will be prioritized for vaccinations after consulting with the EAOs and civil society organisations. “If we can reach a consensus quickly it will speed up the process.”

NUG established the task force on July 17, appointing Dr. Cynthia Maung, founder of the Mae Tao Clinic and chair of Ethnic Health Committee, as CTF’s team leader, and Dr. Zaw Wai Soe, NUG’s health minister, as the deputy team leader.