SKOPJE, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- North Macedonia is expected to start the vaccination process within this month and the process will be carried out in three stages, Minister of Health Venko Filipce said here on Saturday.
Speaking at a press conference, Filipce presented the national vaccination plan developed by experts of the health ministry working on COVID-19.
According to Filipce, in the first phase the ministry plans to vaccinate high-risk groups, including health workers and people over the age of 70.
The second phase will focus on employees working in vital institutions and people over the age of 65, whereas the third phase will be for all other citizens aged 18-64 who want to receive the jab.
"Citizens at risk need to be vaccinated in large numbers in order to achieve herd immunity. The health system is ready to accept the vaccines and implement the vaccination," Filipce said.
On Saturday, the health ministry in North Macedonia reported 404 new coronavirus cases, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 94,599.
As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in some countries with the already-authorized coronavirus vaccines.
Meanwhile, 238 candidate vaccines are still being developed worldwide -- 63 of them in clinical trials -- in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain and the United States, according to information released by the World Health Organization on Tuesday.
