By By Ben Hubbard — nytimes.com — BEIRUT, Lebanon — The Covid-19 vaccination drive in Lebanon erupted in scandal on Tuesday when 16 lawmakers received shots inside the parliament building, violating regulations aimed at keeping the process fair and transparent. The vaccination program, financed by $34 million from the World Bank, began earlier this month when the country received its first doses. To try to ensure accountability in a country known for corner-cutting and corruption, the government is requiring citizens to register for vaccination through an online portal. Medical workers and people over 75 are supposed to get the shots first, administered in official vaccination centers. On Tuesday, Adnan Daher, the parliamentary secretary, confirmed to reporters that 16 lawmakers had received shots. He said the lawmakers were all of the proper age and their turn to be vaccinated had come. But according to lists compiled by local news outlets, about half were younger than 75.
Elie Ferzli, a lawmaker in his early 70s who got the shot on Tuesday, denied in a telephone interview that he had jumped the line, and said he was “shocked” by the public outrage over the shots. “I have meetings every day in the parliament, so how am I supposed to keep doing my job normally and helping people?” he said. Officials overseeing the vaccination program, though, cried foul. Dr. Abdul Rahman Bizri, the head of Lebanon’s vaccine committee, threatened to resign over what he condemned as “a violation we cannot stay silent about,” but he decided to stay on. Saroj Kumar Jha, the World Bank’s director for the region that includes Lebanon, wrote on Twitter before the reports were confirmed that letting lawmakers jump the line was “not in line with the national plan,” and added, “Everyone has to register and wait for their turn!” He said that if the rules were broken, the World Bank could suspend its support for the vaccination program and Lebanon’s Covid-19 response generally. A World Bank spokeswoman did not respond to a query on Tuesday about how the bank would handle the incident.
Ben Hubbard is the Beirut bureau chief. He has spent more than a dozen years in the Arab world, including Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Yemen. He is the author of “MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohammed bin Salman.” @NYTBen
World Bank fury as Lebanon MPs jump vaccine queue
By arabnews — NAJIA HOUSSARI — BEIRUT: Lebanese politicians have been accused of jumping the queue for the coronavirus vaccine, with the World Bank on Tuesday joining a chorus of condemnation and threatening to suspend its multi-million-dollar backing for the country’s vaccination drive. The controversy erupted after some MPs secretly received the COVID-19 jab in the parliament building — despite not being in priority groups. Allegations of favoritism mounted after it was revealed President Michel Aoun and his wife were inoculated last Friday by a medical team sent to the Baabda Palace. The claims added to widespread frustration among Lebanese over delays and breaches of the vaccination campaign.
World Bank regional director Saroj Kumar Jha tweeted that if the allegations were shown to be true, “it would be a breach of the national plan.” He warned that the bank may suspend financing for vaccines and support for the country’s coronavirus response. “I appeal to all, I mean all, regardless of your position, to please register and wait for your turn,” Jha added. The World Bank’s reallocation of $34 million has enabled Lebanon to receive its first two batches of about 60,000 Pfizer-BioNTech doses this month. The bank had said it would monitor the vaccine rollout and warned against favoritism. A number of MPs are believed to have received the vaccine inside the parliament building in breachof an established plan that requires individuals to register through a dedicated platform and then wait for a hospital appointment. The first stage of vaccination rollout, which entered its 10th day on Tuesday, includes doctors, nurses and paramedics treating virus patients, as well as those over 75 years of age.
The MPs’ breach sparked a furious public response on social media under the hashtag #NoWasta (no favoritism). Dr. Abdul Rahman Bizri, head of the National Committee for the Administration of the Coronavirus Vaccine, threatened to resign in protest at the breach, but later said he would wait on an official explanation by Wednesday. Less than two hours later, information was leaked to local media that Aoun, along with his wife and 16 people from his presidential team, was given the vaccine last Friday. Jha tweeted: “This is not in line with the national plan agreed with (the) World Bank, and we would record it (as a) breach of terms and conditions agreed with us for fair and equitable vaccination. Everyone has to register and wait their turn.” A leaked list of MPs who secretly received the vaccine showed that many were not in the priority groups. Among politicians who sought to justify receiving the jab, Anis Nassar said he had registered through the platform and received a phone call from parliament. “I was not aware of any of violation, and if a violation has taken place, I apologize profusely. Despite that I am not responsible for what happened.”
Parliament Secretary-General Adnan Daher claimed that the vaccinations were supervised by a team from the Ministry of Health and the Lebanese Red Cross. He claimed the aim was to “help hospitals avoid overcrowding.” However, the Red Cross said that it had no supervisory or operational role in the vaccination campaign. “Our teams are present in all vaccination centers exclusively to assist or aid citizens of the age group 75 and over in the event of an emergency,” it explained. Bizri later told a press conference: “What happened is a terrible thing and must be explained. The World Bank has said there will be consequences. The Ministry of Health committed this mistake and must explain it.” He added: “This is discrimination.”
Doctors’ Syndicate chief Sharaf Abu Sharaf said that the vaccination rollout “has been slow, chaotic and far from transparent.” He warned that without an improvement in the rollout, Lebanon “faces a great disaster.” “We must accelerate the vaccination plan to reach herd immunity,” Abu Sharaf said.
Here are the politicians that got vaccinated
Abdel-Rahim Mrad, also a former Minister and founder of the Lebanese International University.
Wehbe Qatisha, representative in the Lebanese parliament as a member of the Lebanese Forces party in Akkar.
Mustafa Husseini, who occupies the Shiite seat in the Kesserwan- Jbeil district
Ali Osseina, representing the Zahrani district of South Lebanon.
Nicolas Nahhas, also a former Minister of Economy.
Elie Ferzli, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament.
Salim Saade, representative for the Greek Orthodox Christians from the Koura District in the parliament.
Ghazi Zaeiter, representing the Baalbeck-Hermel district.
Yassine Jaber, representing the Nabatiyeh district in South Lebanon.
Assad Hardan, representing the Eastern Orthodox seat from Marjeyoun-Hasbaya district.
Anis Nassar, member of “Strong Republic” parliamentary bloc.
Albert Mansour, MP of Baalbek-Hermel.
Anwar Khalil, represents the Marjeyoun-Hasbaya district.
Michel Moussa, represents the Zahrani district.
Mohammed Kabbara, also former Labor Minister.
Nehmeh Tome, representing the Roman Catholic seat in the Chouf district.
Fayez Ghosn, former Minister of Defense, and a member of the Marada Movement.
Samir Jisr, member of the Future Movement parliamentary bloc.
Adnan Daher stated that parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri was not vaccinated. However, local media reporters have speculated that Berri has received the vaccine beforehand.