ALGIERS, Jan 30 (Reuters) – Algeria launched a coronavirus vaccination campaign on Saturday, a day after receiving the first batch of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, the government said.
The campaign began in the Blida district, 40 km (25 miles) southwest of the capital, Algiers, where the first confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country were reported in March last year.
Algeria received 50,000 doses of Sputnik V on Friday, said Djamel Fourar, head of the Scientific Committee in charge of dealing with the pandemic.
The North African country will receive a shipment of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Sunday, Communications Minister Ammar Belhimer said without giving the number of doses.
The vaccination campaign prioritises health workers, people with chronic diseases and the elderly.
Algeria has so far confirmed 107,122 cases of COVD-19, with 2,888 deaths. (Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed; Editing by Mike Harrison)