Portugal sends third batch of vaccines to São Tomé and Príncipe
In a statement sent to Lusa agency, the supplement added that the third batch of vaccines from Astrazeneca will be accompanied by all the material necessary to make its administration viable, including, in particular, syringes and needles, and that it will arrive in São Tomé on Wednesday.
The delivery of vaccines to Sao Tome authorities will be made by the ambassador of Portugal, Rui Carmo.
“This action stems from the political commitment to make available to the PALOP [Países Africanos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa] and to Timor-Leste at least 5% of the vaccines against covid-19 purchased by Portugal, as part of the second phase of the Action Plan in the health response to the pandemic “between” Portugal and Portuguese-speaking African countries and Timor-Leste”, highlighted to note.
The operation results from the “joint work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, namely through Camões – Institute for Cooperation and Language and the Portuguese embassy in São Tomé, and the Ministry of Health, through the General Directorate of Health (DGS) and of the National Authority of Medicines and Health Products (Infarmed)”, he adds.
The MNE explains that the transport of vaccines is supported by TAP, within the scope of the Institutional Partnership Agreement signed on September 30 between the national carrier and the Camões institute, “with the aim of promoting collaboration between the two institutions, with special focus on the transport of vaccines against covid-19 and respective consumables for the PALOP and Brazil”.
Covid-19 has caused at least 5,053,909 deaths worldwide, among more than 250.23 million infections by the new coronavirus registered since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the latest report by the Agence France-Presse.
The respiratory disease is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, detected in late 2019 in Wuhan, a city in central China, and currently with variants identified in several countries.