Coronavirus continues to pose a real threat to the world. The fight against it is the primary goal of all states. Azerbaijan has also taken many steps in this direction, put in place by the international community and organizations.
On March 19 last year, Azerbaijan introduced lockdown to protect against the virus. On the same date, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed an order on several measures to reduce the negative impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and, consequently, prevent the negative effect of the sharp fluctuations in world energy and stock markets on the economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, its macroeconomic stability, employment, and entrepreneurship.
According to the document, in the current situation, the possible impact on the economy's stability must be eliminated, the social welfare of the population must be protected, and economic development must be ensured. Achieving these goals requires a combination of all efforts and initiatives in the country.
Under the presidential decree, AZN 1 billion was allocated from the 2020 state budget of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Cabinet of Ministers for financing measures to reduce the negative impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and, consequently, of the sharp fluctuations in world energy and stock markets on the economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, macroeconomic stability, employment, and entrepreneurship.
Azerbaijan established a working group to assess the impact of the pandemic on the economy.
At the President's initiative, some international events were held to join efforts in fighting the deadly pathogen.
Vaccination in Azerbaijan began at the same time with the leading European countries - from January 18, 2021. In this regard, Azerbaijan is among the nations where vaccination continues at full speed.
People are immunized on a voluntary basis and at the state expense. Azerbaijan has received 4 million doses of Chinese-made Sinovac for 2 million people, and the drug is administered to a person in two doses. The interval between doses is 21 days. At the initial stage, the vaccination strategy is envisaged only in public hospitals.
The analysis of the data on the inoculation rate in the CIS countries shows that Azerbaijan, one of the first countries in the region to start vaccination, is ahead of most countries in terms of both the volume of drug purchases and the rate of its use.
As of March 31, 2021, the country had vaccinated 547,541 people against coronavirus.
So, nearly 5.4% of the Azerbaijani population has been vaccinated so far. Among the former Soviet countries, the figure is 20,000 people in Belarus (2%), 110,861 in Kazakhstan (0.6%), 33,885 in Moldova (0.9%), 6,300,000 in Russia (4.3%), and 192,263 in Ukraine (0.4%).
Neighboring Georgia has access to 72,400 doses through the COVAX initiative, but only 5,000 people have been immunized. In Armenia, the vaccination has not started yet.
It shows once again that Azerbaijan is quite serious about the process. In terms of the number of those vaccinated per 100 people, Azerbaijan is among the leading countries, only behind Russia.
Unlike many countries, throughout the pandemic, Azerbaijan has been paying more attention not only to the economy but also to people's health. In this regard, President Ilham Aliyev said: "During the pandemic, our priority is to ensure people's health and their social protection."
In a letter to the President, the World Health Organization Director-General commended the country's work in the struggle against the pandemic. The Director-General praised Azerbaijan as an exemplary country for the measures taken against the pandemic.
The pandemic that has engulfed the world and has entered its third wave is a trial in every sense. Azerbaijan is successfully overcoming the stages to get rid of this scourge.