Kyrgyzstan rolls out COVID-19 vaccination program

Kyrgyzstan has rolled out three-stage vaccination program

By Nurzhan Kasmalieva  

BISHKEK: Kyrgyzstan started the first stage of COVID-19 vaccination on March 29.

Earlier, on March 19, the Central Asian country received a batch of 150,000 China-donated vaccine doses. This amount of vaccines will be enough for 75,000 people, since the vaccine is injected twice with an interval of 25-28 days.

Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Health has developed a national plan to roll out vaccination against COVID-19.

The country’s health authorities plan to conduct vaccination of the population in three stages.

According to the document, at the first stage, it is planned to vaccinate doctors working in the red zones, ambulance doctors, as well as socio-demographic groups with a high risk of severe forms of the disease, teachers, law enforcement officers, workers of trade and catering.

At the second stage, it is planned to vaccinate people aged 60 and over, people under 60 years old with clinical risk factors and chronic diseases, as well as socially vulnerable segments of the population.

And at the third stage – the rest of the citizens will be vaccinated on a voluntary basis.

Health Minister of the country Alymkadyr Beishenaliev was the first to be inoculated with the Chinese vaccine in Kyrgyzstan.

“If after 3 days I start giving interviews, then everything is fine,” he said reporters, answering a question.

Deputy Health Minister Jalalidin Rakhmatullaev, who was the next to receive the vaccination said that the vaccine was tested in Russia, there is no need to be afraid.

Health Minister Alymkadyr Beishenaliev said that the country also will receive Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine in May-June.

The agreement on delivery of 500,000 doses to Kyrgyzstan was reached during Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov’s visit to Russia in late February.

In addition, some 2.6 million doses of coronavirus vaccine will be delivered to Kyrgyzstan through COVAX program. Kyrgyzstan became an official participant of the program in September, 2020.

“At first, we were offered 30,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine, but the cold chain of this vaccine is -70°C. We do not have such equipment and for this reason asked for another vaccine. There are around 9 vaccines offered through this program,” Health Minister Alymkadyr Beishenaliev said, but he did not specify what kind of vaccine will be supplied under this program.

Earlier, the country’s Ministry of Health reported that within the framework of the COVAX program, Kyrgyzstan will receive the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in March. However, after the refusal of European countries from this vaccine due to side effects, Kyrgyzstan suspended the supply of this vaccine.

To-date, 88,163 COVID-19 cases have been registered in Kyrgyzstan since the start of the pandemic, with 84,653 recoveries an, 1,497 deaths.

The first COVID-19 case was detected in Kyrgyzstan on March 18, 2020 and the first virus-related death was reported on April 2.

The country declared an emergency on March 22 last year and the measure is still in force.