Two-thirds of those aged over 70 have been given their COVID-19 vaccine booster dose, public health chief Charmaine Gauci said on Wednesday, with the process of giving the third dose to the elderly to be completed in the coming weeks. 

Gauci shared the information during the latest episode of Times of Malta's Facebook show, Ask Charmaine. 

She said that uptake of the booster dose has been strong, with practically all those in care homes and the vast majority of the immunocompromised also inoculated. 

The government started administering the third dose in September when it became evident that the elderly's immunity against the virus was waning.

Over 60s are next in line to receive appointments to take a booster dose, followed by healthcare workers and teachers. 

No clusters from events, schools

Meanwhile, asked about clusters from mass events, Gauci also confirmed there have not been any cases related to this. Similarly, no clusters have been detected in schools or homes for the elderly in recent weeks.

Instead, she said, clusters were being detected from workplaces, especially as more people returned to work after working remotely for months. 

Gauci said workplaces should carry out risk assessments to establish the levels of risk employees were in. 

Households rule reviewed

Gauci also revealed that health authorities are reviewing some of the "few rules left" concerning public health and COVID-19.

Among them is the rule restricting private gathering to just four households.

Although restrictions on the maximum number of attendees at public events have been gradually eased, the four-household restriction has remained in place and unchanged for several months. 

Gauci would not commit to when the rule will be lifted, but she promised the authorities were looking into it, especially since the number of new cases remained low. 

Spike across Europe

On the spike in cases being experienced in parts of Europe, Gauci said the data showed that increases were reported in countries where vaccination rates are low.

In Malta, she said, the vast majority of the population, over 90 per cent, is vaccinated which is why the number of new cases was still low. 

The seven-day moving average is currently 12 cases, she said, while the 14-day positivity rate has dropped to 0.8 per cent, a figure that Gauci said is "very encouraging".