COVID-19 vaccination will not be mandatory, the superintendent of public health, Charmaine Gauci, said on Wednesday, adding however that she was confident of a high take-up.

"People will understand the importance of the vaccination, the population has always been receptive for all sort of vaccinations," she told the Times of Malta programme Ask Charmaine.

She said the vaccine will be available to all the population, although it is not clear yet when vaccinations will start. COVID-19 precautions would need to continue while vaccination started, until herd immunity is achieved. 

Replying to various questions from readers, Gauci said the COVID-19 situation in Malta is stable, but predictions are that the situation will get worse. It was for this reason that it had been decided that bars and clubs will remain closed throughout December.  

She also said that another consignment of flu vaccinations will arrive in the coming days. Details will be announced by the authorities. 

The programme was presented by Diana Cacciottolo.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.