Citizens aged 80 and older are to be offered a second COVID-19 vaccine booster dose, after European health authorities gave that plan the all-clear.
The rollout of second booster doses for people aged 80+ will begin on Easter Monday, April 18 and will be voluntary, with no impact on the validity of COVID-19 vaccine certificates.
Health sources told Times of Malta that people eligible for the shot would be notified in due course.
Malta is currently offering second booster shots to immunocompromised people and residents of homes for the elderly – a programme that was announced by Health Minister Chris Fearne on Monday.
The decision to extend the second booster campaign comes following a decision by the EU’s medicines watchdog to approve a second COVID jab for people aged 80 years and older.
The European Medicine Agency however said it was too early to make a finding on other age groups.
"A fourth dose (or second booster) can be given to adults 80 years of age and above after reviewing data on the higher risk of severe COVID-19 in this age group and the protection provided by a fourth dose," the European Medicines Agency said in a combined statement with the European Centre for Disease Control.
"For adults below 60 years of age with normal immune systems, there is currently no conclusive evidence that vaccine protection against severe disease is waning or that there is an added value of a fourth dose."
It said authorities would consider the best timing for additional doses, "possibly taking advantage of updated vaccines."
Data concerning a second booster dose comes primarily from Israel, which started administering second boosters at the start of the year.
The evidence suggests that the additional shot restores antibody levels to levels obtained after a third dose without raising safety concerns. But there is still little evidence about how long those benefits last for.
EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides noted that vaccination rates were plateauing but that more than 100 million people in Europe remained either unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated.
"Unfortunately, we are seeing vaccinations plateauing, at the same time as restrictions are being lifted and this is understandable" she said.
"Vaccination remains our best tool in combating the pandemic and we must be prepared for the autumn and winter months," she added.
As of the end of March, 83 per cent of adults across Europe were fully vaccinated but only 64 per cent had received a booster shot.
Malta continues to enjoy one of Europe’s highest vaccination rates.
The joint EMA-ECDC statement concerning over 80s helps bring a degree of clarity to the EU’s stance on second booster shots, with health ministers from various member states having called for more coordination.
"Today we see states that have opened the fourth dose to over 75-year-olds, others to over 80 years, as is the case of France, while the Netherlands is at over 60 years," said Olivier Veran, the health minister for France which currently hold the bloc's presidency.
"Others have not yet started, so it creates legitimate questions," Veran told reporters.