Slovenia to donate 150,000 doses of AstraZeneca to Cape Verde

Ljubljana – Slovenia will provide 150,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Cape Verde as humanitarian aid in the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic, the government said after Wednesday’s correspondence session. Cape Verde recorded 33,721 coronavirus infections and 298 deaths by the end of July.

Masking and preventive hygiene measures are currently in place in Cape Verde, but the country also wishes to maximise vaccination rates. It is using the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines, the Slovenian Government Communication Office (UKOM) said.

Slovenia has surplus quantities of Covid-19 vaccines, while it is also committed to provide humanitarian aid even during a pandemic.

UKOM said it is in Slovenia’s interest to ensure that as many people as possible are vaccinated also beyond national borders to ensure greater collective protection.

This is especially true for areas of tourist or business interest to Slovenians, including Cape Verde.

Slovenia has already donated the AstraZeneca vaccine to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Egypt – 48,000 and 250,000 doses, respectively, given that the supply of this vaccine in Slovenia greatly exceeded the demand.

At the same time, Hungary lent 300,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Slovenia on 2 June, when the population’s interest in vaccination was outstripping the supply, mainly due to long delays in the delivery of AstraZeneca vaccine, UKOM said.

According to the government, the vaccine borrowed from Hungary contributed to the maximisation of potential vaccination rates before the summer.

The National Institute of Public Health has meanwhile already started activities to return to Hungary the full amount of the borrowed vaccine by the 31 December deadline.

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