Lebanon Launches National Vaccination Registration Platform

The Lebanese National Vaccination Registration platform was launched in Beirut on Thursday during a press-conference co-held by the country's caretaker Minister of Public Health Hamad Hasan and caretaker Minister of Information Manal Abdel Samad

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th January, 2021) The Lebanese National Vaccination Registration platform was launched in Beirut on Thursday during a press-conference co-held by the country's caretaker Minister of Public Health Hamad Hasan and caretaker Minister of Information Manal Abdel Samad.

"Our goal is to relay correct information to citizens, and we hope that they will respond to this initiative so as to achieve social immunity through the protection of the society in fighting the coronavirus pandemic," the caretaker health minister announced.

The country's vaccination plan, which was launched on Wednesday, seeks to inoculate 80% of the country's population in 2021, with the country's health care ministry announcing that the vaccine will be offered free of charge at both public and private health-care facilities on a voluntary basis.

"Within two weeks, the number of beds will reach 300 in public hospitals, and this is a major achievement.

Members of parliament have enacted and modernized laws, while the law that was achieved is advanced, thereby allowing Lebanon's legislature to keep pace with the latest innovations in protecting society," the caretaker health minister added.

Beleaguered by a sudden surge in COVID-19 infections in December of last year, the country's hospitals began running low on beds, prompting authorities to announce the county's third and strictest lockdown yet.

The caretaker health minister stressed the importance of mass vaccination as a prerequisite towards fully reopening the country.

Initially announced for a period of eleven days starting January 14, the lockdown was extended by an additional two weeks, sparking widespread outrage and a series of violent confrontations between protesters and law enforcement personnel in the northern city of Tripoli.