Gaza receives 500,000 doses of Chinese Sinovac Covid-19 jabs amid Omicron wave, vaccine hesistancy

The Hamas-run Health Ministry on Monday received 500,000 doses of Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccines as cases of the virus remain high in the Gaza Strip besieged by Israel and Egypt.

The new shipment of Sinovac-Vacsera vaccines, co-manufactured by Egypt's VACSERA and China's Sinovac Biotech, was confirmed by Ashraf Abu Mhadi, director-general of pharmacology at the ministry, to The New Arab.

"Receiving such a number of doses in Gaza will positively and effectively help us increase the immunity of the local community amid the spread of the new virus...as we are facing a fourth wave of the coronavirus."

On Tuesday, the Health Ministry recorded 808 new cases, bringing the total number of infections to 243,038 since 2020. The ministry reported four fatalities from the virus, increasing the number of deaths linked to Covid-19 to 1,888. 

Out of the new cases, 85 percent were infected with the new variant of Omicron Covid-19, according to estimates shared by Ashraf al-Qedra, a spokesperson for the Gaza health ministry. To make matters worse, al-Qedra said his ministry does not have the medical equipment needed to deal with a surge in Covid-19 cases, in part due to the Israeli blockade on Gaza.

Like many communities in the MENA region, vaccine hesitancy remains high in Gaza, according to Qedra,

"Since the outbreak of Covid-19 in the besieged coastal enclave in late 2020, the ministry has received 1,957,960 doses of various types of vaccine, but only 634,821 have received jabs," he said.

"Every person should be vaccinated as soon as possible, and he/she must adhere to health instructions, including wearing masks,  social distancing, and not gathering in public places".