Dubai: In a first of its kind incident in the Gulf region, a Kuwaiti lawyer has filed a case against the Prime Minister and Minister of Heath due to the delay in obtaining a second dose of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, local media reported.
Lawyer Fadil Al Basman filed a lawsuit against the two ministers, demanding a compensation of KD5,000 for the damages he sustained as a result of the delay in receiving the second dose of the vaccine, which was supposed to be administered to him early last March.
The competent court has set July 14 as the date for hearing the case.
The Kuwaiti Ministry of Health postponed the second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine for many citizens and residents due to the late arrival of supplies.
In his lawsuit, Lawyer Al Bassman said the long delay in obtaining the vaccine for some citizens “created a kind of inequality in receiving the necessary health care against the pandemic between those who received the Oxford vaccine and those who received the Pfizer vaccine.”
He pointed out that people who have not been fully vaccinated with the AstraZeneca jabs cannot travel or enter some public facilities, in addition to the fact that part of the local community is still not immune from the coronavirus.
The lawyer said that the health authorities did not give people the option to choose between the type of the vaccine they wish to take.
This is the first time that such a case is filed in the GCC. So far, more than 2.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Kuwait, with a rate of about 62.5 doses per 100 people. At this rate, Kuwait could have 70 per cent of people vaccinated (2 doses) in 87 days (or by September 3, 2021), according to COVID VAX.
