Tunisia armed forces deployed to speed up jabs

Outside the health center in Kesra, a little traditional village of Tunisia, soldiers hold their rifles to guard the place.

Inside, the weapons used by the military health workers to combat the spread of the COVID-19, were the vaccines.

The North African country is facing a third wave of infections that has stressed even more the already crowded hospitals and the Tunisian health system, forcing some regions to go back to a full lock down.

On Tuesday, France included Tunisia in its red list of countries with high COVID-19 risk, due to the deteriorating health situation caused by the virus.

As an attempt to stop the spread of virus and to reduce the number of hospitalisations, Tunisia decided to deploy the armed forces to vaccinate people in some of the most affected regions and in areas with a low vaccination rate.

On Monday military health workers vaccinated people over 60 years old or with comorbidities in Kesra and other regions of Siliana state.

"The turnout is satisfactory, but it is weak compared to the big cities where the news spreads quickly and people come," said Riadh Allani, a medical doctor at the Tunisian Armed Forces working in the health unit of Kesra.

"Here, many citizens face difficulties to reach the vaccination center, so we are ready to extend our stay to give an opportunity for everyone to come," Allani added.

The militaries will work with the local authorities to vaccinate people at home if necessary, he said.

The vaccination campaign involving the militaries was launched last weekend in two regions, Siliana and Tataouine, where at least 3,000 people received the jab.

It could be extended to other areas in the coming days if needed.

Tunisia has reported Africa's highest per-capita death toll from the pandemic, and is currently recording one of the highest per-capita infection rates in Africa, according to data from John's Hopkins University.

Over the past month, confirmed virus infections in Tunisia have reached the highest daily levels since the pandemic began, but the vaccination rate remains low, the data indicates.

To help with the vaccination campaign, President Kaies Saied took the first dose of the vaccine on Monday, trying to create awareness about the importance of the immunisation.

The Health Ministry announced the arrival of 85,410 doses of Pfizer this week, according to TAP, the country's news agency.

On Tuesday Tunisia received aid from several countries- including United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Algeria - that have sent hundreds of thousands of vaccines and medical supplies to help the country to combat the virus.

China and France have announced that a shipment with vaccines will be sent to the North African country in the coming days, the Tunisan news agency reported.

By Tuesday Tunisia registered 501,923 cases and 16,494 deaths according to the Johns Hopkins University data.