Seychelles days away from ‘herd immunity’ after coronavirus vaccinations successfully rolled out
- President Wavel Ramkalawan said herd immunity should be reached in mid-March, when 70 per cent of the island’s population has been vaccinated
- The vaccination drive started in January, with 50,000 doses of the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine donated by the United Arab Emirates
The Indian Ocean island nation of Seychelles had one of the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine roll-outs, and this month it aims to again break ground by reaching so-called “herd immunity”.
President Wavel Ramkalawan said that goal should be reached in mid-March, “when we would have vaccinated 70,000 of our people. That represents 70 per cent because our population is 100,000”.
The country depends heavily on tourism, and when Covid-19 vaccinations in Seychelles began in January, some workers in the tourism industry were among the first to receive them, along with health workers and the president himself.
By the end of February, about 44 per cent of those vaccinated had been given a second shot.
The country has benefited from so-called vaccine diplomacy. Its vaccination drive started in January, with 50,000 doses of the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine donated by the United Arab Emirates, a close trading partner, according to the Seychelles News Agency. The Emirati carrier, Etihad Airways, has a substantial stake in Air Seychelles.