BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Lebanese parliament on Friday passed a law that paves the way for the government to sign contracts for coronavirus vaccines as it fights a dramatic rise in diseases.
Lebanon said in mid-December that it planned to sign a contract for the supply of the COVID-19 vaccine at Pfizer-BioNTech and hoped to receive its first batch eight weeks later.
But the country, which is now struggling with serious setbacks in diseases that have overtaken hospitals, is hitting a legal hurdle that has so far blocked the agreement. bring to an end.
Friday’s law would protect Pfizer-BioNtech, and any other company that delivers vaccines to Lebanon, from any future liability claims for two years.
The law includes a clause designating the Lebanese ministry of health as the only body responsible for compensation.
Lebanon is locked up for three weeks ending February 1 and a tight 24-hour curfew until January 25 after lax measures over the Christmas and New Year holiday period came to a spike in issues.
Health Minister Hamad Hassan has previously said the ministry received about 2 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, to cover 20% of the country’s nationals, but the government still to announce a start date for a national vaccination program.
On Friday Hassan tweeted thanking parliament for passing the law. He has been in hospital since Wednesday with coronavirus but is in stable condition and working from his hospital bed.
Lebanon recorded a total of 237,132 cases and 1,781 deaths from the onset of the pandemic to Thursday.
The latest spike in diseases has hit hard as the medical system was already hit by a severe financial crisis, which caused a shortage of supply, and the August port explosion, which damaged Beirut’s major hospitals.
Narrated by Maha El Dahan, Edited by William Maclean