505,000, this is the total amount of the Covid-19 vaccine doses that Mauritius will receive by the end of April. In the first stage, 50,000 people will be vaccinated. Facing the invisible enemy, the Mauritian health service is prepared to carry out the vaccination exercise for the island’s inhabitants in the best conditions. In fact, as at now, no less than 4 422 frontliners have already been vaccinated. Good news, since April 27 of last year, there have been no new local cases in Mauritius, highlighting a covid-safe destination, which is supported by a new one-year Premium Travel Visa.  

On the frontline, we find the healthcare personnel who have already received their first injections. They are followed by members of the police force, responsible for ensuring that the population’s vaccination goes smoothly along with the nursing staff.  
Being the main contact points at the borders, port and airport employees are also among the first to be vaccinated. Finally, the tourism sector employees, starting with the hotel industry, are already receiving their doses of Covishield; the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine.

The goal? To help revive the sector as quickly as possible.  
Severely impacted by the pandemic, pillar of the Mauritian economy, tourism has been suffering since the border’s closure in 2020, even though there are options for foreigners to visit shall they accept the quarantine requirements. The advent of the vaccine is believed to boost the sector’s resilience and provide the Mauritian government more leeway to reopen its borders. 
General consensus is that after a year of turmoil, it’s high time to regain some normality while ensuring health security in our Covid-safe island.

On Friday, January 22, Mauritius received the first 100,000 doses of Covishield vaccine, the Oxford- AstraZeneca’s vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India. On the 20th of February, we received  another 100 000 doses. 
India was the first country to launch a mass vaccination campaign in its territory while distributing doses to other friendly countries, which Mauritius benefited thanks to its close diplomatic ties. 

 Mauritius is expected to receive 105,000 doses of AstraZeneca/SK Bio vaccine from the COVAX program, followed by 200,000 more doses of Covishield from India. 

Globally, the vaccination campaign will take longer than expected, especially since about 70% of the world’s population will need to be vaccinated at about the same time to achieve herd immunity.  
In the meantime, Mauritius is moving with an aggressive campaign to ensure that both its local population and its visitors are protected.