Concerns about the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 have raised interest in the vaccination booster jabs and take-up has already reached 30% of the adult population, Superintendent of Public Health, Charmaine Gauci has said.
Speaking on Times of Malta’s Ask Charmaine programme, she confirmed that no case of the variant has been detected in Malta yet.
She also announced that parents will be notified in the coming days about the vaccination of children aged 5-11 and she strongly urged them to accept the invitation. This, she stressed, is a vaccination that has been well tested and its safety profile is very good. Furthermore, the benefits are clear.
Those benefits could also be seen in Malta where there has been a sharp difference in the number of infections among children aged over 12 who, in the majority, have been vaccinated, and the younger ones, in primary schools, who have not.
The clusters seen in primary schools so far have not been large – not more than five in all cases thanks to precautions taken in schools, she said. Still, young children should be vaccinated to avoid disease, complications – although none have been seen in Malta so far – and to prevent spread and quarantine implications.
The vaccine for children, produced by Pfizer and approved by the European Medicines Agency last week, is specially formulated and is a third of that for adults.
Asked if unvaccinated children would face the same restrictions of unvaccinated adults – such as being denied entry to some events – Gauci said it was too early to say and the risk has to be assessed. But she pointed out that children may currently attend events without even needing a PCR test because their risk is seen as small once their parents were vaccinated. On the recent increase in COVID-19 cases, she said some six per cent of cases were imported.
She also reiterated that although the number of virus cases in hospital had increased slightly, that did not mean that all those patients had been hospitalised because of the virus. In some of them, the virus was detected when patients were admitted for other reasons.
As for the three patients in ITU, none had received the third jab and one had not been vaccinated at all.
People appreciating benefits of the booster jab
Questioned about the booster jab, Gauci said that while invitations have so far been issued for people aged 55 and over, younger people have been asking for it already. Underlining its importance, she observed that the chances of reinfection with COVID-19 among people who have already contracted the virus has been higher among those who have not had the additional jab.
Furthermore, no deaths from the Omicron variant have been reported among people who had received the booster. In another plus, immunity from vaccines, including the third booster, is much longer than natural immunity.
As to when the third jab should be administered, current advice is that for those aged over 65, it should be administered not less than 28 days after the second dose.
For all other ages, it should be six months after the second dose. Some people who have applied for the third jab may not have received their invitation yet because the six months have not expired, she explained. The authorities in Malta and abroad are continuing to look into whether these time spans should be reduced, on the basis of epidemiology.
Those who have previously tested positive for COVID-19 need to wait four weeks from their first positive swab test to get the booster jab.
Feasts and Christmas procession
Asked about permits for Baby Jesus processions and other Christmas events in view of the go-ahead given to L-Istrina events, Gauci said the same protocol applied for all standing events.
They can go-ahead as long as they did not exceed 100 fully vaccinated people, wearing face masks.
Travel
Asked if PCR tests should be required for travellers in view of Omicron, Gauci said there were ongoing discussions, even within the European Union. And quarantine is still required for arrivals from red zone countries, even if they produce a negative PCR test, since the virus can manifest itself after the test would have been taken.
Vaccination certificate reprints
On the reprint of vaccination certificates after the third jab, she said certificates should be reprinted after 14 days from the third jab, and the date of the third jab should be inputted when the reprint is requested.
"Residents who received their first two jabs abroad can receive the booster dose in Malta and generate a vaccine certificate as long as they can provide evidence of their vaccination history," she said.
At the end of the programme Gauci was asked whether she has any concerns about legislation on the use of cannabis. She said her focus is on medical cannabis, and she did not comment on the legislation itself, other than to say that her department had made its position known.