Following Morocco’s decision to mandate vaccine passes for citizens to access public and private places, many took to the internet to protest the decision, with some claiming that soon-to-expire vaccines are behind it.
Member of the scientific committee on vaccination Amina Barakat denied the “rumors,” stating that Morocco’s national vaccination program is “one of the most effective and successful programs in health, and it relies on very effective logistics.”
The health expert said in an online press conference on the ministry of health’s Facebook page that “It is impossible to purchase vaccines without verifying their expiry dates and the chain of preservation, storage and transportation from one place to another.”
Barakat noted that the coronavirus continues to spread, stressing that the only way to “return to a normal life” is by vaccinating the yet to be inoculated population, which she said ranges from 5 to 6 million people.
The scientific committee official added that no medication is 100% safe, however, she noted that “the World Health Organization does not authorize any vaccine for use unless it is at least 50 percent effective. The vaccines in the Kingdom are more than 80 percent effective, according to what clinical studies have confirmed.”
There are four steps to a vaccine clinical trial, the vaccine is first tested on a small group of people, then a larger sample to ensure its efficacy. It is then tested for safety before it’s given to the population, under the supervision and follow-up of specialists in pharmacovigilance.
Barakat stressed that all the vaccines approved for use in Morocco went through the first three stages, which proves their safety and efficacy.
“The virus is transmitted through the air and spreads rapidly among people… Thanks to the vaccine, many countries were able to get out of serious situations and stabilize the epidemiological situation,” she added.
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, more than 14 thousand Moroccans died, including 32 children, 52 pregnant women, 47 of which died during the second wave, the health expert said.
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