{"id":107749,"date":"2021-02-23T13:08:18","date_gmt":"2021-02-23T13:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=107749"},"modified":"2021-02-23T13:08:18","modified_gmt":"2021-02-23T13:08:18","slug":"world-bank-threatens-to-stop-funding-lebanons-covid-19-vaccines-after-reported-violations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/world-bank-threatens-to-stop-funding-lebanons-covid-19-vaccines-after-reported-violations\/","title":{"rendered":"World Bank threatens to stop funding Lebanon's COVID-19 vaccines after reported violations"},"content":{"rendered":"
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The World Bank threatened to suspend financing for Lebanon\u2019s COVID-19 vaccination drive in its second week after it emerged that some lawmakers would get their shots in parliament on Tuesday.<\/p> The comments from the World Bank came as frustration grew among some residents and doctors that vaccinations were moving slowly and could be riddled with violations.<\/p>\n Lebanon received its first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine – about 28,000 doses – this month with aid from the World Bank, which said it would monitor to ensure the shots go to those most in need.<\/p>\n In its first operation funding the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines, the World Bank reallocated $34 million to help Lebanon start vaccinations.<\/p>\n The bank has warned against favoritism in a country where decades of state waste and corruption triggered a dire financial meltdown.<\/p>\n After local media reported that some MPs would get their COVID-19 shots on Tuesday, the World Bank\u2019s regional director, Saroj Kumar Jha, said that would breach the national plan agreed for fair vaccination.<\/p>\n \u201cUpon confirmation of violation, World Bank may suspend financing for vaccines and support for COVID19 response across Lebanon!!\u201d he wrote on Twitter. \u201cI appeal to all, I mean all, regardless of your position, to please register and wait for your turn.\u201d<\/p>\n The health ministry has sought to dispel fears that politicians would jump the queue. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n An MP said current and retired lawmakers over 75-years-old, as well as some administrative staff, were getting vaccinated in the parliament hall. \u201cWhat\u2019s the big deal? They\u2019re over 75 and registered,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n TV networks were not present.<\/p>\n Charaf Abou Charaf, head of Lebanon\u2019s doctors syndicate, had urged more transparency earlier on Tuesday and said there were \u201cmany violations\u201d without giving a figure.<\/p>\n He said people who did not have priority or were not registered had received vaccines while some medical workers and elderly Lebanese still waited.<\/p>\n Hospitals, hammered by Lebanon\u2019s financial crisis and last year\u2019s port explosion, have fought some of the region\u2019s highest infection rates since January. The surge took Lebanon\u2019s death toll over 4,300.<\/p>\n