KUWAIT: Health Minister Sheikh Dr Basel Al-Sabah told local daily Al-Jarida that an agreement had been made with the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) to provide Kuwait with 1.6 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine once it is produced, adding that this amount will be enough for 800,000 people, as each person receives two shots.

"This is a very good amount as a first shipment and will be enough for 20 percent of Kuwait's population," Sheikh Basel said, noting that once the second shipment is imported from manufacturing companies, Kuwait will cover 50 percent of its needs of the vaccine. He added that manufacturing and research centers working on producing the vaccine had been contacted to supply it once produced and that the health ministry's legal affairs department is currently working on the details of the agreement with GAVI.

Sheikh Basel said 145 companies, including 137 that have not published any related scientific research papers, are competing to produce the vaccine. He said MoH had only contacted companies engaged in scientific research and made an agreement with four or five of them to supply the vaccine. - Al-Jarida