Doha, 15 Dec. 2020 (Qatar Tribune)

By Ashraf Siddiqui

The COVID-19 vaccine will be available for everyone in Qatar free of charge but will be optional and not mandatory for the general public, the Ministry of Public Health’s (MoPH) Mona Al Muslamani has said.

She said Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) will be carrying out awareness campaign about the vaccine. Muslamani was speaking at an online seminar ‘Developing human rights mechanisms in light of the coronavirus pandemic and beyond in various sectors’. The event was organised by the National Human
Rights Committee (NHRC) to mark the International Human Rights Day.

She said the COVID-19 vaccine is 99 percent safe and its side effects are simple, similar to all the symptoms that appear in the vaccines used against other diseases. She also allayed fears the vaccine could cause genetic mutations, saying, “it’s not true”.

She reviewed the ministry’s efforts to combat the pandemic since its outbreak in March, stressing that provisional measures were made to provide services in emergency, routine integrated health care for the injured and other sicknesses without any disturbance with special focus on caring for the vulnerable groups such as the elderly, people with disabilities, diabetics and those on dialysis.

In his opening speech, NHRC Deputy Chairman Dr. Muhammad bin Saif Al Kuwari said the symposium was organised to know the steps being taken by various institutions involved in combating the pandemic, especially those dealing directly with the public.

He stressed the need for early research to look at the best ways to develop mechanisms of national human rights institutions in light of the coronavirus pandemic and beyond, in terms of speed of response and administrative efficiency.

Colonel Sa’ad Salem Sa’ad Al Dossary, Assistsnat Director of Human Rights Department at the Ministry of Interior, spoke on ‘The Role of Law Enforcement Officials in Following Up Preventive Measures and Respecting Human Rights’. He said the pandemic posed a real challenge to the state, government institutions and the civil society. “The epidemic caused great damage to human rights, particularly free movement, work and peaceful gatherings. However, the measures taken like quarantine, social distancing were to control and prevent the epidemic from spreading,” he said.

He said law enforcement agencies acted within the framework of the national efforts and with respect for human rights. He said the ministry implemented all the decisions issued by the health authorities regarding the pandemic such as wearing masks, social distancing and monitoring the preventive measures approved by the competent authorities.

Abdulrahman Muhammad Al Sulaiti from the Legal Affairs Department of NHRC presented his working paper on ‘Harnessing the electronic surge in the process of developing Human Rights Mechanism’.