Prime Minister Robert Abela has laid out his vision for the coming months, stating he wants a COVID-19 vaccination programme to commence within a month and for the nation to return to “business as usual” by May.

Abela struck an encouraging note about potential COVID-19 vaccines at a political event at the Labour Party’s headquarters this afternoon, stating that the first consignment will arrive in Malta within a month and that a vaccination programme will start the very next day.

“In a month’s time, we’ll embark on the road towards full normality,” he said. “Do you know how close we are? The vaccine will arrive at the end of December or the start of January, and we’ll start with a big advantage because we’re a strong nation which has remained on its own two feet.”

“We made sure we’ll be among the first countries to receive a vaccine and we made sure we’ll have a stock of vaccine for the entire nation.”

Indeed, the Prime Minister said Malta has been allocated so many doses of COVID-19 vaccine that it might be able to donate some of its stock to other nations. He pledged the vaccine won’t be mandatory but strongly urged people to get vaccinated for the sake of society.

Abela said that although COVID-19 restrictions won’t all be removed as soon as the vaccine he arrives, he wants the economy to “strongly recover” by March and for everything to be “business as usual” by May.

“I want us to have a summer with the best kind of tourism, with economic activity in full swing. I want to see people going on holiday, foreign direct investment coming to our shores, restaurants and bars packed with people, and grandparents visiting their grandchildren without fear. I want Malta and Gozo to be as we’ve always known them.”

What do you make of the Prime Minister’s comments?