[ad_1]
The US State Department told VOA that so far it has provided only 23 percent of the required COVID-19 vaccine doses for US diplomats.
The US Ambassador to Pristina, Philip Kosnett, in a cable sent to the State Department, quoted by the American press, presents a grim situation for the situation of the employees in the embassy.
“About 20 percent of the embassy staff are infected with COVID-19, and the vast majority are local staff, which is a sign of ineffective disease control in Kosovo. “Kosovo behaves like a country that has no cases of COVID-19… But, Kosovo is a country devastated by the pandemic…”, it is said among other things in the cable, which underlines that until the State Department is able to provide the vaccine “For service locations like Pristina, the impact of the pandemic on health, well-being and productivity will remain profound.”
In response to VOA’s concern about the concern raised by US Ambassador Kosnett and the situation with US diplomats serving outside the United States, a spokesman said that “to date DASH has received about 23 percent, or 73,450 doses from 315 thousand he requested. “This amount would fully cover the Department’s workforce at home and abroad and would include all those working under the authority of the Head of Mission, including family members, inter-institutional partners, contractors and local staff,” the spokesman said.
Ambassador Kosnett in his cable outlines the challenges of isolation and mental health of those serving in the embassy.
A State Department spokesman told VOA that “we understand the anxiety caused by the pandemic, both in the United States and around the world,” noting that the goal is to vaccinate 100 percent of staff whenever possible. .
The State Department said it has sent nearly 80 percent of the first quantities of vaccines to the field, stressing that the criteria for their distribution will depend on several factors such as data from health institutions, cases reported among employees, prevalence rate and disease trends in the field, as well as the quality of medical infrastructure in host countries, etc.
Kosovo is going through a situation aggravated by the pandemic and is the only country in the Balkans where vaccination has not yet started.
Covid-19 cases continue to rise and authorities have expressed concern that this week could mark further increases after a period of rallies due to the February 14th parliamentary elections.
Kosovo expects the first doses of vaccines to arrive at the end of the month or at the beginning of March./VOA/
top channel
[ad_2]
Source link
