د . إAEDSRر . س

Maltese Actor Who Survived COVID-19 Calls Out Deċeduti Star After She Plays Down Vaccine Importance

Article Featured Image

An actor who survived a serious case of COVID-19 earlier this year has called out Deċeduti actress Maruska Aquilina after she said she got infected with the virus but has no regrets that she didn’t get vaccinated against it.

“I wish you the best of health, and had you passed through what my family and I passed through, I think you’d be speaking differently,” Mario Micallef said in response to Aquilina’s eyebrow-raising post.

“I’m disappointed that I wasn’t eligible to get vaccinated by the time I got COVID-19, or else I definitely wouldn’t have gone through what I did.”

Aquilina said last week that she was in quarantine after contracting the virus but felt as though she was passing through a regular cold. 

“For those who are continuously asking me if I’m feeling OK because I took the vaccine, I didn’t take any COVID-19 vaccine and I want this global obsessive campaign on the vaccine to end,” she added.

The actress said that while she feels sad for people who lost their lives to the virus before the vaccine was available, she also sympathises with those who suffered certain side effects after getting vaccinated.

“I didn’t take the first or second shot and won’t take the booster either because I now have natural immunity after getting infected with the virus itself,” she confirmed, before joking that she has a “booster on the roof if anyone wants it”.

However, Micallef, who also contracted the virus earlier this year, warned Aquilina that she’d be singing a different tune if she had experienced what he and his family passed through.

Micallef has gone public about how his COVID-19 experience, recounting to Times of Malta how it had started with a cold before aggravating into more serious respiratory symptoms that saw him spend two weeks at ITU and slip into a coma.

“I wish you the best of health, and had you passed through what my family and I passed through, I think you’d be speaking differently,” Micallef said.

“I’m disappointed that I wasn’t eligible to get vaccinated by the time I got COVID-19, or else I definitely wouldn’t have gone through what I did. If the vaccine wasn’t effective, the numbers wouldn’t have gone down so much once people started getting vaccinated. While I respect your decision, I have another opinion on the vaccine.”

Malta is one of the most vaccinated countries in the world, with over 90% of the population fully inoculated and around 77,000 people receiving the booster shot so far.

It clearly seems to be leaving positive national effects. Despite a recent spike in new COVID-19 cases, only 13 people are currently hospitalised with the virus, only two of whom are receiving intensive care. No COVID-19 patient has died in the past 15 days.

Last November, when the vaccine campaign had yet to start, Malta was registering hundreds of new COVID-19 cases and several deaths every day.

Health Minister Chris Fearne

Health Minister Chris Fearne

Last week, Health Minister Chris Fearne said that none of the COVID-19 patients who were hospitalised then had received their vaccine booster, which is particularly impressive seeing as the booster is so far being administered to the more vulnerable age groups and people.

While some European countries have brought back some COVID-19 restrictions, with Austria even introducing the world’s first lockdown for the unvaccinated, Malta has not given any indication that it plans to introduce restrictions in the near future.

 Cover Photo: Left: Maruska Aquilina (Photo: Facebook – Espresso), Right: Mario Micallef (Photo: Facebook)

Do you intend to receive the COVID-19 vaccine booster when the time comes? 

READ NEXT: 'I Realised The Lump On The Floor Was A Woman': Maltese Father Recounts Horrific Xemxija Crash Scene

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]

You may also love

View All