Morocco plans to administer third dose of COVID-19 vaccine

RABAT - Morocco will soon start giving a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Health Ministry said on Friday.

The procedures and modalities for the third dose, as well as the targeted categories, will be communicated at a later date, said the Ministry.

Given the importance of strengthening immunity among all Moroccans and foreigners residing in Morocco and so that they protect themselves and their families from contamination, they are called upon to join this operation, it added.

The announcement comes after millions of Moroccan students returned to school on Friday for in-person classes after a prolonged summer vacation.

The government had planned to reopen schools back in September but postponed the start date because of virus fears.

The North African kingdom has the continent's highest vaccination rate and virus infections are now receding. The school reopening came a month after the government kicked off an ambitious vaccination campaign for children aged 12 to 17, becoming one of the first African countries to inoculate that age group.

Morocco has administered the most doses in Africa, inoculating 19.8 million people out of a population of about 36 million, mostly with Sinopharm, AstraZeneca and Pfizer jabs.

As a result, the government has decided to ease some COVID-19 restrictions, notably allowing the assembly of 50 people for wedding ceremonies and other events following a steady drop in infections.

Overall Morocco has registered more than 933,000 infections and 14,000 deaths from COVID-19, according to the Health Ministry.