WATCH: Abela And Grech Pledge To Take COVID-19 Vaccine When It’s Their ‘Turn’ After Speaker Calls For MPs To Be Prioritised
The leaders of Malta’s two major political parties have both refused to follow a parliamentary ruling to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible, saying they will wait their turns.
The Speaker of the House, Anglu Farrugia, today urged Malta’s Health Authorities to give MPs the vaccine as soon as was possible so that sittings would not be interrupted in light of MPs making contact with several people in their day to day work, exposing themselves to a greater risk of catching the virus.
However, both Prime Minister Robert Abela and Opposition Leader Bernard Grech refused this, with each of them getting up to make an intervention explaining why.
Abela said that while he respects the Speaker’s rulings, and that he understood it, he “felt” he shouldn’t be given precedence over those more vulnerable than him, and that his decision was to wait until it was his turn according to Health Authorities’ plans.
Grech, first referring to Health Minister Fearne’s bombshell allegations that two PN MPs had asked him to skip the queue for the vaccine, said that neither he nor his MPs would not be receiving the vaccine before everyone else – nor did they even want to skip the queue.
As of publishing, Malta has administered 97,864 vaccine doses, with 32,862 of them being second doses.
With rumours that people are obtaining their shots before it is their turn – ahead of more vulnerable people – and following Fearne’s controversial claims, politicians in Malta have become wary of being seen to be trying to obtain the vaccine before their moment on the list, even if it means going against the Speaker’s ruling.
What do you think of the two leaders’ responses?
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