“The decision to start administering the COVID-19 vaccine booster early in Malta now seems to have been a wise decision and other European countries are doing the same today.” This was emphasized by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Chris Fearne after a meeting of the Council of European Ministers of Health, during which the need for European citizens to receive the booster in order for Europe to overcome this delicate phase of the pandemic.
During the meeting, European Member States expressed their concern about the Omicron variant, which is increasing its presence in Europe. Here Deputy Prime Minister Fearne explained how in Malta sequencing tests are being carried out on all positive cases so as to have accurate information about the variants in the community.
The Deputy Prime Minister reaffirmed the importance of countries continuing to buy vaccines together so that everyone has direct and prompt access to the vaccine against COVID-19. The Deputy Prime Minister reminded that this joint process will lead to Malta receiving the consignments of the children’s vaccine at the same time as the other European countries in the coming days. This will allow the vaccine to be offered to all children over the age of 5 by the end of January.
Deputy Prime Minister Fearne also referred to the fact that the European Union has donated more than 350 million vaccines to third countries, saying that he is pleased that Malta has delivered one of the largest amounts of vaccines per capita.
