The elderly have been spared the rise in COVID-19 cases seen in other age groups, with booster shots having been administered to most of the over 70s but yet to reach the younger cohorts.
COVID case rates in the age groups from 64 down increased significantly last week, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control data shows.
An analysis by Times of Malta found that, in some cases, the rates doubled in the span of a few days to reach highs that had not been seen in weeks.
But while notable increases occurred in the younger age groups, the rate for those aged between 65 and 79 remained unchanged at 29.9 cases per 100,000 people while the rate for those 80 and over plummeted to 9.2, half the rate of the previous week.
The drop in cases among the older groups, which are among the most vulnerable to COVID, correlates with the roll-out of their third jab of the vaccine. These are needed because immunity was found to wane a few months after the initial jabs were administered.
The elderly were among the first to receive their booster inoculation back in September and, within a few weeks, drops in infections had already started being registered among them.
Epidemiologist Neville Calleja had told Times of Malta that the positive impact of the booster among the elderly was seen within days.
While COVID rates among the elderly are encouraging, those for the younger cohorts are less so.
According to the ECDC data, which goes up to November 7, the rates doubled in the span of a week in the 25 to 49 and 50 to 64 cohorts. The rate for those aged between 15 and 24 went up to 60.1 from 38.3 per 100,000 people the previous week while infections among children under 15 also spiked to 53.5, up from just 33 during the previous week.
The roll-out of the booster vaccine among the over 70s is now nearing its end. Last Monday, educators and healthcare workers started being offered the additional jab and those 60 and over are expected to be invited for the booster in early December.
Following that cohort, anyone 45 and older will be eligible, with the health authorities saying they should start getting the dose in January.