Getting vaccinated is still our best defence

On December 1, Times of Malta ran a story with the headline ‘Many doctors and nurses shun COVID booster vaccine – study’. 

The study part implied that this conclusion was based on hard evidence, namely the findings of a survey published in the Malta Medical Journal.  But, as the article itself stated, only 24% of those invited to participate in this study submitted feedback, while 76% chose not to. 

This means that the power of this study is unacceptably low and no reliable conclusions can or should be drawn from its findings.

The article, therefore, gives the impression that the majority of healthcare professionals themselves are not taking the COVID vaccine. This is inappropriate and may potentially cause harm by swaying people away from getting vaccinated. Now for the facts.

Fact: The COVID pandemic hit us hard and initially medics were at a loss on how to treat it.

Fact: Mortality from COVID was alarmingly high, especially in the elderly and other vulnerable groups. The virus played havoc in homes for the elderly while healthcare systems throughout the world were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers requiring hospital treatment.

Old age became a criterion for non-admission to ITU. Surely, we all remember the scenes of coffins ‘queueing’ up to be buried in the north of Italy.

Fact: While a combination of strategies resulted in the pandemic being controlled, the rapid development of effective vaccines was the single most significant turning point.

Fact: The initial uptake of COVID vaccines was high, with 70% of the Maltese population having received at least a single dose by mid-May 2021. 

But, since the end of the pandemic, vaccination rates have been falling because of fear of side effects, generated in no small measure by misinformation and scare tactics shared in the media. 

There is also an ‘I don’t care’ attitude in the younger generation who feel they have nothing to fear from COVID. Local statistics show that, of all the seasonal vaccines administered till the end of October 2025, 68.8% took the influenza vaccine, 18.6% pneumococcus and only 12.3% for COVID.

Are concerns regarding the COVID vaccine justified? It must be said that safety surveillance for the COVID-19 vaccines is the most intensive in the history of vaccination and, therefore, any rare events reported may not be as quickly identified for the flu vaccine ,which is monitored less intensively on an annual basis. The newer mRNA vaccines have an excellent safety profile and, as with the influenza vaccine, any rare side effects are short lived. Both vaccines dramatically reduce the risk of severe illness and death, and the benefits of both vaccines overwhelmingly outweigh their potential risks.

There is also an ‘I don’t care’ attitude in the younger generation who feel they have nothing to fear from COVID- Alexander Attard

So, why should older adults in particular be vaccinated? Older adults have the highest risk of severe COVID-19 leading to hospitalisation, complications and death and, therefore, the risk-benefit balance shifts even more in favour of vaccination in this group. 

The CDC in the United States reported that over 81% of deaths from COVID occur in those over 65 years. Reasons for this include weaker immune systems, more underlying health issues, such as diabetes, heart disease and lung disease, as well as higher exposure and vulnerability in long-term care facilities.

These considerations apply to influenza as well.

The current COVID vaccines have been shown to reduce COVID-19 associated hospitalisation by around 45% in the older age group and this alone will help prevent healthcare systems and ITU facilities being overwhelmed, especially during the winter months. 

This will logically benefit our younger generation as well, who will have better access to hospital care. It, therefore, follows that younger people should also play their part in reducing COVID infection by getting vaccinated. 

This will increase herd immunity, which is of the utmost importance in keeping the virus at bay. Several studies have now shown that vaccination reduces the risk of long COVID in all groups of people and was 60-75% effective at preventing long COVID in children and adolescents. 

It is important to remember that protection after vaccination will wane with time and it is therefore essential to stay up to date with seasonal boosters, especially before the winter months.

As Commissioner for Older Persons, my main focus is on the well-being of our older generation. I urge our older population to get vaccinated against COVID-19, influenza and PCV20 pneumococcus vaccine. 

But my appeal goes out to our younger generation as well not only because they too will benefit but also because by lowering infection rates, transmission to their older loved ones will be reduced.

Your grandparents and parents sacrificed a lot for you to get to where you are now. Don’t they deserve to be protected from you?

Alexander Attard is Commissioner for Older Persons.