The Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohammad Solih announced that his government will provide free vaccines to all of nearly 545,000 people who live in the country, Sun news reported. 

“The government’s policy is to provide the vaccine for free to all Maldivian citizens without distinction, and everyone who lives in the Maldives,” Solih said on Thursday while inaugurating a power plant project in the country. 

In the last eight months, many foreigners who reside in the country also caught up with the virus. The president took note of this fact in his Thursday address.

He said no one would be sidelined once the vaccine becomes available for mass distribution in the country. 
 
The government has instituted the National Steering Committee to make all necessary arrangements related to capacity building and infrastructure for the vaccination program in the country. The Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC) also monitors the steering committee works. 

The steering committee will also prepare the lists of people who would receive the vaccine on a priority basis. The high risks population would be the first group to receive the vaccine doses.

HEOC estimated that around 20 percent of the population is expected to receive the vaccines in the first phase of the drive.