Covid-19 booster shot coverage growing in Arakan State

By DMG 23 May 2022

DMG Newsroom
23 May 2022, Sittwe 

The Arakan State Public Health Department has administered Covid-19 booster shots to more than 176,079 people aged 40 and above across Arakan State’s 17 townships. 

Assistant Director Dr. Soe Win Paing of the Arakan State Public Health Department said: “We have so far provided booster shots for over 1.7 million people, and are working to cover more people.” 

To date, more than 1,728,212 people in Arakan State have received a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and 1,323,907 have received their second dose, according to the state’s Public Health Department. 

Booster shots are given no less than six months after the second dose is administered, said Dr. Soe Win Paing. The chairman of Rakhine Covid Watch, Ko Tun Hlaing, urged people to get their booster shot when the time came to do so. 

“People should receive [their booster shot] without fail as it can give them greater protection against coronavirus,” he said. 

The military regime’s Ministry of Health announced on May 17 that 6,361,629 people had received a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, 24,803,256 had received two doses, and 1,829,588 people had received their booster shot. 

The ministry on Sunday reported that a total of 613,222 Covid-19 cases had been reported in Myanmar, with 19,434 related deaths, since March 2020.