The Director of Ambulance and Emergency at the Ministry of Health, Tawfiq Hassa, described that very few citizens in Syria registered on the platform to receive the COVID vaccine. He then stresses the necessity to receive the vaccine as it is the main protection against COVID-19 and it mitigates the symptoms, in case of infection. This comes in the light of a new wave, which is feared to be more severe with weather shifts, and the behavior that people will adopt, like closing windows and gathering in one heated room in the house, among other behaviors that increase the infection’s spread.
In a statement to al-Watan, Hassa indicated that all people are required to register for and take the vaccine because it is 100 percent safe, free, and approved by the World Health Organization.
The Director of Ambulance and Emergency explained that the purpose of registering on the vaccine platform is not to complicate the process for people but to regulate the processes of obtaining the vaccine and distributing vaccine applicants equally and appropriately to the identified centers, according to the technical possibilities of each center. The platform also aims to preserve the data of the people who received the vaccine, in the vent that a citizen requests a document proving that he took the vaccine.
He pointed out that there is a directive from the Minister of Health for all centers approved for vaccination to simplify the procedure for citizens wishing to receive the vaccine.
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The data revealed that more than half a million citizens received the first dose so far, while those who took both doses only amounted to 350,000citizens.
Regarding the reality of infections in the country, the Director of Ambulance explained that we are in peak condition and there is no decrease in the number of infections. Intensive Care units are fully occupied in Damascus; Intensive Care units in Damascus countryside, Latakia, Aleppo, and Tartous are on the way to full occupancy.
The director of the al-Mujtahid hospital, Ahmed Abbas, confirmed that the COVID-19 infection rate is high and cases are still proliferating, with most cases needing hospitalization. This explains the high numbers of cases announced by the Ministry of Health since everyone who enters the hospital undertakes a PCR test and receives his results.
Abbas explained that there are 12 patients in intensive care in the al-Mujtahid hospital, which is the full number of beds available. There are 53 patients in isolation units, which can accommodate 70 patients. The availability of medicines for treating patients –in accordance with the protocol adopted by the Ministry of Health– is almost completely available, and there is no problem regarding the availability of oxygen.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
