The Chin State government will begin vaccinating for COVID-19 on Wednesday, January 27, with health workers to be prioritized, according to Pau Lum Ming Thang, Health and Social Affairs minister for the state.
The Union Government started distributing the vaccines across the country, after a donation of 1.5 million doses of Covishield by the Indian Government, India’s version of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, arrived in Yangon on January 22.
Pau Lum Ming Thang told Khonumthung News they’re preparing lists from all the townships in the state to be sent to the Union Government, which is deciding how vaccinations will proceed. “After health workers receive the first vaccination, I think that government officials and staff will receive the second batch. But it's just my opinion because we haven't been given any orders yet.”
Because there isn’t enough to vaccinate all of the 55.6 million population of Burma, the minister asked state residents to be patient and continue following government regulations to prevent COVID-19 infections. Until more doses are available, only 750K in Burma will be vaccinated because two doses are required to be effective.
According to the government's Ministry of Health and Sports, pregnant women and anyone under 18 won’t be vaccinated at this time.
One of the first cases of COVID-19 officially detected in Burma happened in Tedim Township in late March. This month, the township in northern Chin State has been hit with a new outbreak of coronavirus infections.
