WATCH: Malta Bought More COVID-19 Vaccines Than It Needed For A Strategic Reason, Abela Says
There was a clear reason Malta bought more vaccines that it needed, Prime Minister Robert Abela said today in an interview one ONE.
Responding to a question about the vaccine rollout, Abela said there were those that hadn’t expected the government to obtain the vaccine by April this year, only for them to obtain it ahead of schedule last December.
He noted that since then, the rollout has been efficient, with the drive to obtain as many vaccine doses as early as possible being part of a strategy.
“Thank God we didn’t rely on one producer,” Abela said. “If you have one producer that has issues, you don’t need to rely on them. And what have we seen?”
His words come in the wake of major concerns over one particular brand of vaccine, AstraZeneca, leading to blood clots in people who recieve a dose.
Two people in Malta have developed blood clots after taking a COVID-19 vaccine, but health authorities said there was no confirmed link between the two.
Similarly, the Malta Medicines Authority maintained the position taken by the European Medicines Agency that the benefits of AstraZeneca “outweigh the risks of side effects.”
“By buying more , we also guaranteed that in the first weeks of obtaining the vaccines, we had more doses given out per capita than any other country.”
Abela went on to note what he was seeing happening in other countries that didn’t have such an efficient rollout of the vaccine.
“The doses arrive, and we vaccinate immediately. What are other countries doing?” he asked. “Leaving those doses in their refrigerators.”
He reiterated Health Minister Chris Fearne’s expectation that by June, 70% of the island’s adult population would be vaccinated. By August, a dose is expected to have been administered to every adult in Malta.
“And if we don’t come across any obstacles, we may even better those targets,” Abela said.
What do you make of Malta’s vaccine programme?
READ NEXT: Set For September? Tickets For Popular Lost And Found Festival In Malta Available Online
