This infographic is based on an official document from the Ministry of Health (20th January, 2020), and on clarifications made by the Minister of Health on the 30th of January, 2021. The figures are therefore subject to change, according to regular information updates provided by the government.   

For the time being, the Tunisian authorities have only issued marketing authorisations (AMM) for the Pfizer and Sputnik V vaccines. Others are still under review, including the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine which is due to arrive imminently, as well as the Chinese vaccine from Sinovac.

Initially set at 50,000 doses, Covax's emergency aid was finally increased to more than a million doses by mid-February. The vaccines supplied by the WHO (World Health Organisation) and CDC Africa come from several laboratories: Pfizer, AstraZeneca/Oxford, and Johnson & Johnson. 

Meanwhile, Tunisia has purchased 4 million doses directly from foreign laboratories. In addition to the Pfizer vaccine, the government is also negotiating with Russia.

"Negotiations are well underway and it is very likely that we will secure the Sputnik V vaccine", explains Riadh Daghfous, General Director of the National Pharmacovigilance Centre, and member of the Scientific Commission for combating the coronavirus. 

Currently, only the Pfizer vaccine has been approved by the WHO. On the 2nd of February, 2021, the British scientific journal “The Lancet” published a study confirming the efficiency of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine to be at 91.6%.

In regards to the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, there is a lack of data available for assessing its effectiveness on people over 65 years of age. Germany, for example, has for the time being decided to only administer it to people between the ages of 18 and 64.

"50% OF THE POPULATION VACCINATED WITHIN A YEAR"

The Tunisian government aims to vaccinate 50% of its population within a year. " This will limit the spread but it will not lead to herd immunity ", notes the health strategy consultant Emna El Hammi. " The assumption is that widespread vaccination is not immediately feasible ", admits Riadh Daghfous.

For Emna El Hammi, the worry is rather about a lack of awareness regarding the vaccination campaign.

"How can we make sure that people will come back for the second dose, and that they will continue to protect themselves between the two injections? It will require a huge amount of information, raising awareness and logistical work that I think is very difficult to implement and which should already have begun. "

As of the 30th of January 2021, 300,000 Tunisians have already registered on the " E- vax " platform. Vaccination is free and voluntary. " People are identified by their national identity card, which allows us to facilitate the procedure " explains Hechmi Louzir, director of the Pasteur Institute of Tunis, and president of the committee in charge of vaccination. " We are in the process of scheduling on-site vaccinations for essential workers within healthcare and other strategic sectors, so that they don’t need to be concerned with the E-vax registration ", he adds. 

As for the vaccination sites, he explains that they will be located in both basic health centres and district hospitals. While the vaccination centres in the governorates will be open every day, the mobile centres will instead operate on a five-day campaign basis, explains Hechmi Louzir.