On 23 June 2021, WHO representative in Kuwait Dr Assad Hafeez and two officers for the WHO regional office of Eastern Mediterranean visited two COVID-19 vaccination centers set up by the Kuwait government. The Mishref center has been setup within the Expo center since Dec 2020 and is capable of dispensing more 25,000 injections per day. It has been equipped with state-of-the-art equipment to store, prepare and administer the vaccines while accurate data is recorded on national IT platform. Around 400 employees have been trained in a very short period of time to administer the vaccine, operate as administrative staff and ensure everybody is adhering to the health and safety measures put in place by the Ministry of Health while ensuring the WHO standards during the vaccination process.
The drive-through vaccination center located at Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway in the capital Kuwait City is the first drive-through vaccination center in Kuwait which was inaugurated on May 2021 and represents the continuous efforts of the Ministry of Health to accelerate vaccination. The center is equipped with clinics and emergency chambers and has the capacity to handle up to 5,000 plus jabs per day while ensuring global best practices in quality, safety and efficiency.
Dr Hafeez and the WHO team thanked the staff running the vaccination centers for being at the forefront of efforts against COVID-19 and acknowledged the leadership of H.E. Dr. Bassel Al-Sabah, Minister of Health, in fighting the pandemic by bringing in all the best possible measures in the health system. These vaccination centers were built in a shortest possible time, have the highest safety standards, have all facilities for the public and are comparable to any other such facility around the globe.
“I am genuinely impressed with the efficient organization of the vaccination centers and commitment of the staff. I am thankful for their help in vaccination while applying the highest level of professionalism to ensure the safety and efficacy of vaccines” said Dr Assad Hafeez.