"Now that progress has been made concerning the vaccine, Morocco intends to take advantage of the offensive strategy it has adopted by signing an agreement with China's Sinopharm", with which it agreed to take part in clinical trials conducted in dozens of countries, by ensuring the delivery of 10 million doses once conclusive results have been observed and by planning local production as part of an exchange of expertise," "Le Point" said in an article entitled "Covid-19 vaccine: Morocco Opens the African Road."

"Cautious", the Kingdom has also signed a contract with British laboratory AstraZeneca, which has developed a vaccine in partnership with Oxford University, and is expecting the delivery of 8 million doses of vaccine in the first half of 2021 following an agreement between the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Moroccan pharmaceutical company Galenica, it added.

These are "all elements that should facilitate the national immunization campaign that the country hopes to launch by the end of the year to immunize some 20 million Moroccans in three months," the publication explain.

If this materializes, it would be a "tremendous achievement" since nearly 55% of the population would be vaccinated on a continent where the objective declared on November 26 by the Regional Director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Matshidiso Moeti, was "to vaccinate 3% of Africans by March 2021 and 20% by the end of next year," "Le Point" underlined.

Highlighting the fact that HM King Mohammed VI has asked the government to make free of charge vaccination available, the magazine said that "the vaccination momentum is well and truly underway."

Quoting Health Minister Khalid Aït Taleb, "Le Point" noted however that the launch date of the campaign hinges on "the validation of vaccines and the delivery schedule of pharmaceutical producers."