Health Minister Chris Fearne has hailed the expected arrival on Sunday evening of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

In a post on Twitter, he said that, as from today, Malta has another "cannon against coronavirus’'.

The AstraZenca vaccine, produced by a British-Swedish company, is the third vaccine to arrive in Malta, following Pfizer and Moderna. 

On January 30, the EU’s medicines regulator approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for distribution in the EU.

Malta is currently into the second phase of the vaccine rollout, with this now being given to the over 80s and non-medical front liners.

Earlier this week, Fearne said in Parliament that Malta has secured an agreement for one million doses of AstraZeneca.

In Malta, this vaccine will only be administered to 18-55 year-olds. The decision is because there are not yet enough studies to fully know its efficacy in older people. 

Malta has ordered a million doses of AstraZeneca as well as 270,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine and 650,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

It will be donating or selling the surplus doses.

With the arrival of AstraZeneca, the vaccination programme is expected to be brought forward by two weeks. 

Up until Saturday, 35,676 vaccine doses were administered, out of which 7,594 were second doses. 

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