The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade organised, this afternoon, at its seat in Port Louis, a handing over ceremony of 200,000 doses of mRNA-based Moderna vaccine by the French Government to the Government of Mauritius. The Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal; the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Haymandoyal Dillum; the Ambassador of France in Mauritius, Mrs Florence Caussé-Tissier; and other personalities, were present.
At the outset, the Minister of Health and Wellness thanked the French Government, and stated that the donation illustrated the excellent collaboration between the two Republics. He underlined that the donation of Moderna vaccines came at the right time as Mauritius embarked upon its COVID-19 vaccine booster dose programme for those aged 18 to 39 years old. He said that the 200,000 doses of Moderna would enable the vaccination of 400,000 people as only a half-dose of this particular vaccine was required as a booster shot.
Recalling that France stood behind Mauritius through several initiatives at regional level, as well as in development and cultural endeavours, Dr Jagutpal acknowledged the support provided in terms of medical knowledge, expertise, products and equipment to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Minister affirmed moreover that talks were underway with the University of Bordeaux regarding an agreement that would enable Mauritian doctors to be trained in rare medical specialties.
Speaking on the current spread of the Omicron variant, which pointed to a new stage in the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Jagutpal said that 90% of positive cases in Mauritius were infected with the Omicron strain. He averred that while Omicron appeared to be more infectious, there were lower rates of hospitalisations. He added that sanitary measures and vaccination were contributing, too, to the decrease in the number of hospitalisations, and that the world was gearing up to return to life as normal with several countries scaling back on regulatory measures.
However, Dr Jagutpal encouraged the population to be COVID-19 vaccinated and to get their booster dose. The diplomatic efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade to secure COVID-19 vaccines were also highlighted.
The special and privileged relationships between France and Mauritius were underscored as well by Ambassador Haymandoyal Dillum. He stressed that though the COVID-19 pandemic put immense pressure on the health system and hit hard world economies, it brought to the fore the resilience and solidarity among nations, which he added, was epitomised by France’s donation of vaccines.
For her part, Mrs Florence Caussé-Tissier expounded on the effectiveness of multilateralism and the role played by France in vaccine solidarity through the distribution of vaccines in a bid to reduce vaccine divide, increase vaccine coverage and therefore reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on a global scale. She elaborated on the French approach which relied on effective partnerships and support to mechanism such as the COVAX and the AVAT.
The Ambassador explained that the donation initiatives stemmed from the joint collaboration of relevant French departments of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Solidarity and Health, and the diplomatic and cooperation network. She declared that the donation to Mauritius would include some 200,000 syringes and that the French Department of Reunion Island would soon gift Mauritius 200,000 FFP2 face masks.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of Mauritius.
