Morocco orders Covid-19 vaccine as cases approach 100,000

Morocco on Friday signed a deal with Russia’s R-Pharm to buy a Covid-19 vaccine produced under a licence from Britain’s AstraZeneca, the health ministry said, as its total number of cases approached 100,000.

The Ministry did not provide details on the cost and quantity of the order.

AstraZeneca licensed R-Pharm in July to produce the vaccine it developed together with Oxford University.

This month, Morocco started taking part in clinical trials of China’s Sinopharm vaccine.

The North African country added a daily record 2,760 cases to its confirmed total on Friday, meaning it has recorded 97,264 in all, including 1,755 deaths.

AstraZeneca has said it is close to having capacity to produce 3 billion doses at sites set up around the world, also sourcing from third-party manufacturers, to supply various governments and organisations. It has a larger order book than any other vaccine developer.