Also Read | Why Dalit students are facing a fund crunch in India’s educational institutionsAdding to the pressures, the economic meltdown has prompted many doctors to emigrate and raised concerns that subsidies on medicines will be removed.Lebanon, with an estimated population of 6 million, has reported 1,210 deaths as a result of Covid-19.Despite the nation's dire shortage of foreign exchange, the government expects to sign the $18 million deal for supplies of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine this week, Health Minister Hamad Hassan told Reuters on Monday.Officials previously said Lebanon was in talks to secure 1.5 million shots of the vaccine.The first payment of $4 million "was secured" in a meeting with the central bank and outgoing prime.