For the continuous distribution of COVID-19 vaccine in Myanmar, it depends on neutral and impartial manner, irrespective of ethnicity according to a joint statement issued by GAVI, UNICEF and WHO on September 30.
It said that Myanmar’s low level of COVID vaccination coverage compared to other countries in the Southeast Asia region, combined with limited capacity for testing and disease control has resulted in a serious COVID-19 outbreak.
As part of efforts by the UN and its partners to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination availability, the COVAX facility has preliminarily distributed 6.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for Myanmar. These doses must be distributed according to WHO prioritization guidelines, it stated.
Final allocation of these supplies to Myanmar will be contingent on whether they can be delivered at the required speed and scale to all Myanmar people, in a neutral and impartial manner, irrespective of their ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status or political affiliation. It will also be contingent on the availability of appropriate cold chain infrastructure and on guarantee around the safety of health care workers being in place.
In this regard, GAVI, UNICEF and WHO are engaging in ongoing dialogue with key stakeholders to identify the modalities through which the above conditions can be achieved. It is a first step towards revitalizing Myanmar’s immunization system.
To date, only 6.8 percent of the Myanmar’s population has received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine, while an additional 13.1 percent has received at least one dose, the statement said.
