Mohamed VI ordena que la vacuna contra la COVID-19 sea gratuita para la población de Marruecos

King Mohammed VI of Morocco has instructed the North African government to make the COVID-19 vaccine free for all citizens in the planned coronavirus immunisation campaign that will begin in the coming weeks, as reflected in an official note from the royal cabinet. 

"His Majesty King Mohammed VI gave his High Instructions to the Government for the adoption of free COVID-19 vaccine for the benefit of all Moroccans," the statement said.

The exact date for the vaccination campaign is not yet known, but the Royal House of Alaoui has set itself the goal of providing the remedy against the coronavirus to the entire population for immunization against the disease and to curb a pandemic that has forced many restrictions on the Moroccan nation. 

The official note does not specify what the logistics of vaccination will be in a country of more than 34 million inhabitants, nor does it detail what the timetable will be. All this after the Moroccan country has suffered strong protection measures and restrictions to stop the spread of the coronavirus through the national territory. 

On 9 November, the king ordered a massive vaccination campaign against COVID-19, following the recommendations of the national scientific committee, and specified that priority would be given to health personnel, public authorities, security forces, education workers and the elderly or vulnerable. It was also indicated at the time that the vaccine would be given only to those over 18 years of age.

"It should be recalled that His Majesty the King had presided over a working session on 9 November devoted to the strategy of vaccination against COVID-19, which is part of the sovereign's ongoing monitoring of the evolution of this pandemic and of the measures to combat its spread and protect the health and safety of citizens," the official statement said. 

No details were given on that occasion as to where the compounds would be acquired, but the Moroccan Minister of Health, Khaled Ait Taleb, subsequently specified that they would come from the Chinese Sinopharma and British AstraZeneca laboratories.

Currently, Morocco has a total of 384,088 cases of coronavirus, of which 337,719 patients were cured and 6,370 died.