Mohammad Diab is a Syrian refugee who lives in Za’atari Camp in Jordan. Here he is taking the COVID-19 vaccination at an IRC clinic in the camp.
“I’m Mohammad Diab, I’m 43 years old and I’m from Daraa in southern Syria. COVID has affected our lives a lot, work has stopped, our daily life became complicated. We stay home all the time. In the past, I was meeting friends and people. I feel happy that I got the vaccine. It’s a vaccine, like other vaccines, but it will end this pandemic that stopped our lives. I was questioning the vaccine, but I decided to take it for the sake of my community. My wife took the vaccine as well. My parents are in Syria. I wished with all my heart that they were here, so they could be vaccinated. I’m afraid of them getting infected; they are old and at risk. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this vaccination campaign. Don’t question the vaccine, just take it; it is the only way to end this virus.”
The IRC-run clinic in Za’atari Camp in Jordan has been designated as a COVID-19 vaccination site by the Ministry of Health. The vaccination campaign began this week (mid-April 2021), and aims to eventually vaccinate everyone in the camp, home to approximately 80, 000 Syrian refugees. Some of the IRC health workers have been trained by the Ministry in administering the vaccine and are supporting in rolling out the vaccination campaign at the clinic.
Elsewhere in Jordan, the IRC has supported the MoH by strengthening the infrastructure at a specialist chest disease hospital in the town of Mafraq to enable an auxiliary vaccination centre to open there. This vaccination centre was created specifically to support in the vaccination of refugees in Mafraq Governorate. Jordan was one of the first countries in the world to offer the vaccine to refugees – in fact, including refugees in the vaccine roll out was part of the country’s plans from the very beginning.
