Heath Minister Chris Fearne said today that so far 38% of the population have received the Covid booster dose.

He also announced that as of Monday, Maltese residents over the age of 35 who had received the last dose of the vaccine no less than 4 months before can register for an appointment for the booster on vaccin.gov.mt

He stressed that, ”although both doses of the vaccine protected us against the Delta variant, for Omicron we will need the booster.”

The Health Minister advised that no Omicron cases had been detected in Malta, however he warned that it is to be expected, reiterating that it is far more contagious and urged the public to adhere to the current restrictions, including the wearing of masks.

Dr Fearne said that on the advice of the European Medicines Agency, people who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be given a second dose of the same, which will act as a booster.

For this group of people, who are aged over 35 and who have been vaccinated for two months, the appointments will be sent by message without the need to apply for the second dose themselves.

He went on to say that people over the age of 50 who have taken the first dose of Johnson & Johnson and who have already been vaccinated with a booster from another brand, will not receive another dose.

On booster vaccinations, Dr Fearne said that there are 90% of people over the age of 80, with 82% of those aged 70 to 79 and 76% of people aged 60-69 were vaccinated. While almost half between of 50 and 59 have received the booster so far.

The Health Minister also said that invitations will be sent to all children between the ages of 5 and 11, explaining that the pediatricians’ advice is for children to take both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine and that, therefore, from tomorrow, all children between 5 and 11 year olds will be receiving a letter at home by appointment.

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