Malta’s management of the COVID pandemic has been confirmed among the best in the world but the government should have given more importance to genuine doubts about the vaccine and the mental health impact of mitigation measures, Chris Fearne said.

Speaking on Times of Malta’s podcast Times Talk five years after Malta recorded the first case of a pandemic that swept the globe, the former deputy prime minister and health minister reflected on the nation's success while also acknowledging areas where he feels the government could have done better.

Notably, Fearne highlighted the need for a more nuanced approach to vaccine hesitancy and a greater emphasis on mental health support.

"There were people who genuinely had doubts about the vaccines," Fearne admitted. 

"I’m not speaking about the conspiracy theorists who were trying to frighten people. I’m speaking about the people who were genuinely worried because they thought the vaccine was produced too quickly, and who thought that maybe we were hiding facts from the public. We didn’t give importance to those worries as much as we should have."

He acknowledged that the focus on rapid vaccine rollout overshadowed the need for more thorough communication and reassurance.

"If the pandemic were to come around again, we would have a better setup of how to explain to people what the vaccine was all about. People trust doctors, and if we had explained it better, we would have given them the assurance they needed,” he said.

“Ironically, while the COVID-19 vaccine's development was remarkably rapid, it underwent the most rigorous testing in vaccine history. It was rushed, not because scientists cut corners, but because the big companies poured all their resources into it."

Mental health

Another critical lesson learned, according to Fearne, was the underestimation of the pandemic's impact on mental health. 

While Malta's less stringent lockdown measures mitigated some of the adverse effects seen in other countries, the impact was still significant.

"Even our measures left an impact. We should have given it more importance, especially when it comes to the elderly, for instance."

A more balanced approach is needed as the world prepares for future pandemics.

"Studies are still ongoing on how to balance mental and physical health in the case of a future pandemic," he said.

Long days, tough decisions

The first COVID case in Malta was recorded on March 7, 2020.

“Malta wasn’t among the first to be hit, but by February it was clear to us [in government] that it was going to be a big problem. We knew it was going to spread strongly and rapidly and could potentially kill many.”

He recalled a meeting with the Prime Minister and scientists and technical experts back then.

“Experts ran the numbers and told us the pandemic was going to kill 10,000 people in Malta unless we took drastic measures and secured lots of the vaccine as soon as it was made available,” he recalled. 

He was fortunate to be surrounded by many talented people, with whom he would meet almost daily to make decisions.

“Decisions based on the latest scientific evidence, not on what people were saying on social media. Science was not always popular, but it was the most accurate.”

“We would sleep at 1am and wake up again at 5am to do it all over again, to see what had happened during the night. But looking back I don’t feel it was a nightmare. We knew what we were doing and we knew many people were making huge sacrifices – in the health system but also in the community.”

‘We saved 72 out of every 100’

He said Malta's strong healthcare system and high levels of public trust in medical professionals contributed to the nation's success and the WHO recognised Malta's exceptional performance, ranking it first globally in saving lives of individuals over 80 and second overall.

“In the end, Malta saved 72 out of every 100 people who were projected to die of the pandemic. It was the second highest success rate after Israel (75%).”

“Picture this – in medicine, any policy that reduces mortality rates by one per cent is a breakthrough. We reduced that mortality rate by 72%. In the event of another pandemic, countries should look at Malta as the ideal. Malta is considered as an example of best practice on how to lead a country during the pandemic.”

Not everything went well, he admitted. People still died and COVID is still around. 

Health authorities are registering around two or three new cases every day and there are currently 27 active cases. But the virus today is far weaker than it started out. Nobody is in ITU and many cases are never even registered because to most people who catch it, it feels like a normal cold, he said.

“That’s what it has become, essentially,” he said.

“And during the pandemic we didn’t have even one person who needed a bed in ITU or a ventilator and we didn’t have one to offer them. This happened in almost no other hospital in the world.”

A 'silent pandemic'

In a stark warning, he also highlighted the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, describing it as a "silent pandemic" that could have devastating consequences.

Fearne explained that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is already responsible for millions of deaths annually. 

"We estimate that around 5 or 6 million people die every year because the medicines that were effective up until a few years ago don’t work anymore. It’s getting worse and OECD projects that if things remain as they are, within 10 years, 90% of infections in hospitals will be untreatable."

The consequences, he warned, are dire. 

"That means people could go to hospital and die, not from their condition, but from an infection that develops from the intervention and for which there are no effective antibiotics. We’re talking about infections that up until a few years ago were treatable and now aren’t.”

Seeking re-election?

During the podcast, he also did not exclude seeking re-election, although he refused to be too clear about his intentions.

“My time as deputy prime minister and health minister was a good time during which I feel I contributed a lot, but that doesn’t mean the story stops here. We’re going through a transition,” he said.

“The election is two years away. We cross that bridge when we come to it.”

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