Algeria launched its coronavirus vaccination campaign starting in the northern city of Blida, the epicentre of the country's Covid-19 outbreak in March 2020.
Algiers said it had received a first shipment of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine on Friday, having announced in late December it had ordered 500,000 doses from its long-time ally Moscow.
Health Minister Abderrahmane Benbouzid said the country was working to acquire sufficient vaccine doses to immunise all of Algeria's 44 million people, the official APS news agency reported on Saturday.
The vaccination campaign will be carried out in "phases" across all regions, "without exception", he said, cited by APS.
Some 8,000 health centres have been mobilised to roll out vaccinations, starting with medical workers, the elderly and people with chronic health conditions.
From Sunday, security and civil protection personnel, workers in the education sector, religious leaders, politicians and journalists will also start to receive the jab.
The campaign kicked off at a clinic in Blida province, which was hard hit by the virus after Algeria's first infection was recorded there in a citizen travelling from France.
The country has since recorded 2,888 deaths from Covid-19, as well as over 107,000 infections — including President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who was hospitalised in Germany for two months from late October after contracting the disease.
Algeria is also expecting a first shipment of the vaccine developed by Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca on Sunday, and has also procured doses of vaccines from China and India, according to Communications Minister Ammar Belhimer.
Authorities on Saturday also decided to ease coronavirus measures by lifting a curfew in 10 provinces.
However, in 19 provinces, a curfew between 8 pm and 5 am remained in force, with markets, sports halls and recreation centres closed.
Algeria, the largest country in North Africa, closed its borders on March 17 and has yet to reopen them.
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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How to help or find other cats to adopt
Strait of Hormuz
Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.
The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.
Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.
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2021 World Triathlon Championship Series
May 15: Yokohama, Japan
June 5: Leeds, UK
June 24: Montreal, Canada
July 10: Hamburg, Germany
Aug 17-22: Edmonton, Canada (World Triathlon Championship Final)
Nov 5-6 : Abu Dhabi, UAE
Date TBC: Chengdu, China
Dr Graham's three goals
Short term
Establish logistics and systems needed to globally deploy vaccines
Intermediate term
Build biomedical workforces in low- and middle-income nations
Long term
A prototype pathogen approach for pandemic preparedness
