North Macedonia begins COVID-19 vaccination

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — North Macedonia began administering vaccinations against the coronavirus Wednesday from a first batch of 4,680 doses of Pfizer vaccines donated by neighboring Serbia over the weekend.

A doctor and head nurse in the main COVID-19 center at the infectious diseases clinic in the capital, Skopje, were the first to receive the shots.

According to a Health Ministry plan, medical staff in COVID-19 centers will be vaccinated first, followed by members of the public over the age of 65.

Health Minister Venko Filipce said the vaccination of medical staff with their first shots is expected to be completed within 10 days.

Another shipment of about 4,000 dozes of the Pfizer vaccines is expected next week, he said.

North Macedonian authorities signed an agreement to procure 200,000 doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine last week, with which they hope to begin vaccinating later this month.

As of Tuesday, North Macedonia had recorded 97,456 coronavirus cases and more than 3,000 deaths since the beginning of the epidemic year ago in this country of just over 2 million people.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up