Lebanon Approves Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine, Reports More Coronavirus Infections, Deaths

By Staff, Agencies

Lebanon approved Sunday the emergency use of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, as it registered 15 new coronavirus-related deaths and 1,754 cases across the country in the last 24 hours.

The Lebanese Health Ministry's scientific committee gave its seal of approval as the country expected to receive the first shipment of the vaccine in February.

Among the new cases reported Sunday, 10 were from travelers arriving from abroad, bringing the total number of cases in Lebanon since the virus was first detected in the country in late February to 171,226. The total number of deaths now stands at 1,394.

A total of 14,189 PCR tests have been administered in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate of the tests in the last two weeks stood at 13.6 percent.

The Health Ministry said that 425 patients were in ICUs and 141 on mechanical ventilation.

The vaccine approval came a day after caretaker Interior Minister Mohammad Fahmi signaled that another lockdown could be on the horizon if cases surged.