The vaccination of 20,000 citizens with chronic conditions aged over 77 starts today at vaccination sites nationwide. They will get the AstraZeneca vaccine, 24,000 doses of which arrived through the Covax facility on March 28. Meanwhile, Health Minister Venko Filipche, in a TV interview on Tuesday evening, said the country will not be giving anyone under 60 the AstraZeneca shot, after Canada and Germany restricted its use over a risk of rare blood clots.c
“In light of the reports from Canada and Germany,” Minister Filipche told TV21, “we’ve decided to follow their recommendations and not vaccinate people under 60 with the AstraZeneca.”
The country’s health officials will also consult with the European Medical Agency about the vaccine, he added.
Another 76,000 AstraZeneca doses are expected to arrive through the Covax facility, many of them to be used as booster shots. Large shipments of vaccines are also expected to arrive soon from China and Russia.
“Virtually every vaccine entering the country is safe,” the health minister said, adding that the national immunization strategy is based on international guidelines, with priority groups determined by the World Health Organization.
So far, 7,005 health workers have been vaccinated in the country. Over 4,000 have received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Another 3,000 were vaccinated with the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, the second shipment of which arrived this weekend for them to receive their second doses.
Following recent reports that a number of North Macedonia’s citizens were vaccinated with AstraZeneca in Serbia, Filipche said he had asked Serbian health officials to send him the official records so they could get their booster shots here.
In the meantime, preparations for the country’s mass immunization are in progress, the largest vaccination point being Skopje’s Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena. It should be ready next week, Filipche said.
Vaccination sites across the country will be open from 8 am to 8 pm, Monday to Friday. The first priority group of citizens over 77 will get their appointments scheduled through their family physicians.
Vaccinated or not, citizens are still urged to continue following public health protocols.
“There are enough hospital beds, there is no need to panic, but by following the measures we’re all helping reduce the transmission of the virus,” the health minister added.
