Tunisia: Long lines as country launches 'open day' vaccination drive

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Hundreds lined up in Tunis at one of the 300 centres being used on Sunday as part of the “open day” initiative to vaccinate as many people over 40 as possible.

The initiative drew large crowds and volunteers, with one medical volunteer named Amal Shaherly saying that she “sent an appeal and gathered a number of young men, doctors, youth and students volunteers to make this day a successful vaccination day and to provide the most resources for Tunisians, our people, to be vaccinated and be able to confront the hardships that we are facing.”

The drive comes as the country recently received more than 6 million vaccine doses as donations from Western and Arab countries, with an additional 6 million expected to arrive a later date. The aim will be to have at least half of the country’s 12 million people inoculated with at least one dose by October.

An “open day” drive was set for July but was later scrapped due to a lack of organisation at the time. The World Health Organisation, which declared Tunisia to have the world’s worst officially declared COVID death toll, urged the country to speed up inoculations as the Delta variant continues to spread in the country, making up around 90 percent of newly reported cases.

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SOT, Reda El Bouhali, Director of Preventive Health (Tunisian Arabic): “As you know, today is an open national vaccination day, and the goal is to vaccinate people whose average age ranges from 40 years and above, who have been registered and have not been vaccinated yet.”

SOT, Reda El Bouhali, Director of Preventive Health (Tunisian Arabic): “Today, if we complete those aged 40 years, we will start next week with those aged under 40, and with this walk, until this September 15th, God willing, we will have defeated the virus and recorded a greater number of vaccinations, and thus we will have overcome the disease and defeated it.”

SOT, Amal Shaherly, Volunteer Doctor (Tunisian Arabic): “I heard the call for this open day, August 8, and I am a member of the Inara Association, so we sent an appeal and gathered a number of young men, doctors, youth and students volunteers to make this day a successful vaccination day and to provide the most resources for Tunisians, our people, to be vaccinated and be able to confront the hardships that we are facing.”

SOT, Red Crescent Volunteer (Tunisian Arabic): “We are counting on the awareness of the youth and citizens to make this open day a success. We are in this together and, God willing, will get out of this crisis.”

SOT, Visitor (Tunisian Arabic): “I did not want to get vaccinated, four or five times I’ve missed the appointment. After that I gave in and prayed that God help me.”

#Tunisia #Tunis #COVID19 #coronavirus #vaccinations

Video ID: 20210808-039

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