AMMAN (Reuters) – Jordan has struck a deal with Pfizer and partner BioNTech to buy 1 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine and another 2 million doses from the World Health Organization’s s COVAX programme, with talks underway for more, the prime minister said on Sunday.
In his address to parliament, Bisher al-Khasawneh did not say when Jordan would receive the vaccines, but health ministry officials have said they expect the first supplies from the U.S. company to arrive in February.
The COVAX programme is a WHO scheme to vaccinate people in poor and middle income countries around the world against the coronavirus.
Khawasneh told parliament that Jordan’s health care system had tripled in capacity since October with new beds and wards designated for COVID patients, Khasawneh told parliament.
Health Minister Nathir Obeidat said last week the government hoped to rollout a free inoculation programme for more than 20 percent of the 10 million population.
The country has seen a sharp drop in COVID-19 cases since a second wave peaked last November with around 60 deaths per day.
Jordan reported 1,540 new daily cases on Sunday, with 26 deaths. Since the outbreak first surfaced in Jordan in early March and until Jan. 3, 298,208 people had been infected, and 3,903 people have died.
(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
