The Nationalist Party has called for the government to explain why staff at government agencies are being vaccinated against COVID-19 while elderly people are still waiting for their jabs.
In recent days, frontline staff at government entities including the Water Services Corporation and the Foundation for Social Welfare Services have been pictured being vaccinated against COVID-19.
Meanwhile, those aged between 75 and 80 will have to wait until March 8 for appointments and no timeframe has been given for jabs for the over 70s.
Nationalist MPs Stephen Spiteri and Claudette Buttigieg called for more transparency in the vaccine roll-out, claiming elderly people were calling the party up in tears.
"We are worried that people’s pleas are not being heard. The elderly are calling us up crying and asking: “Why have they forgotten me?” Buttigieg said.
"Meanwhile, we hear of staff at government agencies getting the vaccine. There could be a valid reason for this, but the government needs to tell us," she added.
Buttigieg said there were hundreds of people who have been locked home for a year to protect their vulnerable relatives and yet the government was not providing these people with any sort of peace of mind.
The Opposition also echoed concerns raised by the medical union on Thursday about the impact of COVID-19 on Mater Dei hospital.
"The pressure on hospitals is real. Frontliners are under a lot of pressure. The wards are full up. There is pressure on the ITU. That unit is not just about the beds available but the staff need to specialise on that," Spiteri said.
"Rooms and areas that were not wards have turned into wards to keep up with admissions. The hospital has a set capacity and there are limits. We cannot have doctors ending up burnt out."
On measures in place to stop the spread, Spiteri said that there needs to be better enforcement of existing rules.
The current regulations include fines for not wearing a mask in public places, for groups of more than six gathering in public places and for breaching quarantine.
Contact tracing, he said, has slowed down to a point where people are being informed they were in contact with a COVID-19 patient days later.
"Once you cannot keep up with contact tracing, you have lost control of the situation," the MP said.