A health worker receives a dose of COVID-19 vaccine at Air Albania stadium in Tirana, Albania, Jan. 11, 2021. Ten months after the report of the first COVID-19 cases, Albania on Monday started to vaccinate its residents against the disease. Fifty health workers in the capital Tirana received their vaccinations on Monday. (Photo by Gent Onuzi/Xinhua)
TIRANA, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Ten months after the report of the first COVID-19 cases, Albania on Monday started to vaccinate its residents against the disease.
Fifty health workers in COVID-19 hospitals in the capital Tirana will receive the vaccine on Monday, Minister of Health and Social Protection Ogerta Manastirliu said at a press conference.
The vaccine will be free of charge and health workers in all four COVID-19 hospitals in Tirana and other regional hospitals will be the first to be offered the voluntary inoculation.
The first vaccination sites in the country are situated in the premises of Air Albania stadium in Tirana, which have been equipped with the specific requirements for vaccination.
Vaccination started around 3 p.m. local time and Prime Minister Edi Rama was among the first candidates to get the vaccine shot, as broadcasted live by the local media.
Prior to the vaccination, Rama told reporters that he would be one of the firsts to be vaccinated "only to give a clear message that the vaccine is not only safe, but is the only weapon to the invisible enemy."
A total of 975 doses have arrived in Albania from a European Union country, Rama said. Another 10,000 doses are expected to arrive in the country in the third week of January.
The government has secured 500,000 COVID-19 vaccines from the manufacturer Pfizer. The prime minister said currently the government is making efforts to reaching another vaccine agreement with AstraZeneca.
To date, Albania has reported a total number of 63,595 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 37,648 recoveries and 1,241 fatalities. Enditem
