A donation of 203,580 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines was presented, this morning, by the U.S. Embassy to Mauritius to the Mauritian authorities, during a ceremony held at Newton Tower, in Port-Louis.
The Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Alan Ganoo, the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal, the Chargée d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy to Mauritius, Ms Judes E. DeBaere, the UN Resident Coordinator for Mauritius and Seychelles, Mrs Christine Umutoni, the WHO Representative in Mauritius, Dr L. Musango, and other personalities were present.
The 203,580 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines arrived at the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport on 16 December 2021. The vaccine donation was made through coordinated efforts among the U.S. Government, COVAX, and the African Union. During that same week, the U.S. Government also donated 39,780 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to Seychelles.
Minister Ganoo expressed the heartfelt gratitude of the Government of Mauritius to the U.S. Government for the generous donation of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines which reflect the solidarity and goodwill of the U.S. and the strong ties between both Governments. The Minister further recalled that the modalities for the next batch of vaccines are currently being worked out.
For his part, Minister Jagutpal stated that more than 72% of our population have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines as at now, underscored Dr Jagutpal. Government, he recalled, has worked relentlessly in making sure that our country has access to safe and sufficient vaccines for its population. Mauritius managed to procure vaccines in a timely manner and greatly benefitted from the support of international organisations and friendly countries and their donations have allowed us to start our vaccination programme, he said. On that note, he expressed gratitude to the U.S. authorities for their laudable gesture.
As for Ms Judes E. DeBaere, she stated that this donation reaffirms the U.S. Government’s commitment to end the COVID-19 pandemic, help save lives and mitigate the pandemic’s devastating social and economic impacts. As part of our strong bilateral relationship, the U.S. Government is proud to support Mauritian authorities’ vaccination efforts and help protect the population of Mauritius, she emphasised.
For her, even with the rise of new variants, vaccines remain effective at lowering the rate of hospitalisation and severe illness. ‘The time is now to take advantage of these vaccines to protect yourself, your family and those in your community. For many people this includes getting your booster shot. Mauritius has been a leader in ensuring vaccine availability and I hope all eligible people will take advantage of this’ said the Chargée d’Affaires.
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines donations
Mauritius has benefitted, to-date, from three donations of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines from the U.S. Government. A first consignment of the vaccine was delivered in September, and a second one arrived in November.
In total, Mauritius has received 387,270 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines as donations from the U.S. Government. The vaccine donation is part of the Biden Administration’s commitment to leading an international and coordinated vaccine effort to end the COVID-19 pandemic.
So far, the U.S. Government has successfully donated more than 302 million COVID-19 vaccines to more than 110 countries worldwide.
