The Algerian authorities who had great ambitions for vaccination had to revise their intentions downwards in view of the most catastrophic results recorded after four months of promises.
On January 29, the first batches of the Russian Sputnik-V vaccine arrived in Algeria and the next day the first dose was inoculated. Since then it has been a cascade of failures, of bad faith on the part of the authorities who thought that in March part of the 70% of the population (collective immunity) would have been inoculated, but what nay! “By the end of the month, we will be receiving a significant amount of vaccine. We will achieve our goal of 70% of the population by the end of the year ”, said the Minister of Health on February 18.
Unfortunately, it is not for lack of delivery, tells us an Algerian media. Because if we have focused too much on the inability of the authorities to acquire the doses of vaccines (so far 300,000 for 150,000 people, to date, Algeria has received 50,000 doses of the Russian vaccine Sputnik-V , 50,000 others of the English Astra-Zeneca and 200,000 doses offered by China), it would seem that this is not the only obstacle. Indeed, the derisory quantities of doses received have not yet all been used.
It is the Minister of Health, Abderrahmane Benbouzid, himself who recognizes that ” the acquired doses have not been used up, and that the vaccination is still in progress and that the health sectors continue to summon the registered people, numbering 30,000 “.
Obviously it is not a question of vaccine batch but a question of organization. However, both politicians and specialists boasted about the capacity of the Algerian health system and its long traditions of vaccination as well as sufficient infrastructure and seasoned staff. Which in view of the result at the end of March is far from a reality on the ground.
Because how to explain that with all this “logistics” we could not vaccinate more than 0.3% of the Algerian population in two months. Minister Abderrahmane Benbouzid replies that the authorities are proceeding to ” rationalization »Of the available doses. We therefore vaccinate sparingly.
The first served, we suspect, are those from above and suddenly, the priorities in this ” rationalization ”Do not seem to have been respected with all these ministers and politicians who saw fit to publicize their vaccination.
A figure attracts particular attention in this slump, only 30,000 candidates for vaccination have registered on the platform set up for this purpose and yet open to everyone. Why then this general distrust on the part of the people towards their leaders? This lack of enthusiasm on the part of citizens to register is in any case indicative in many ways of a people’s confidence in their leaders.
Beyond all these inadequacies and misunderstandings, the great failure of the Algerian authorities remains their inability to acquire the necessary quantities. The Minister of Health has just announced new deliveries “ in the next few days », And speaks of 12 to 16 million doses expected under the contract with the Russians and the Covax program, in addition to another 7 million under the African Avatt program.
That’s all well and good, except that the Minister does not explain why the quantities announced for the course of March, including 1.8 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, have still not yet arrived and that the supplier countries are facing production problems at cause of the third wave which hits many countries.
