A 94-year-old woman has become the first elderly person in Malta to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Mary Pizzuto received the jab at St Vincent de Paul, where she lives, on Friday. 

Another 40 elderly residents and 15 staff members will also be vaccinated throughout the day.

Elderly people in other residences will be vaccinated in the coming days.

Speaking at the residence, Minister for the Elderly Michael Farrugia thanked frontliners who for months have been working with the elderly.

The first batch of COVID-19 vaccination was flown in on Saturday, and health professionals started being vaccinated on Sunday.

Mater Dei Hospital staff nurse Rachel Grech, who works at the Infectious Disease Unit became the first person to take the jab in Malta. 

The following day the Medical Association of Malta urged the government to speed up COVID-19 vaccination, insisting that all healthcare professionals should be vaccinated within five weeks.

Around 600,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine - enough to inoculate 300,000 people - should be shipped to Malta over the coming weeks.

The authorities have not yet revealed how many people have been vaccinated so far, and whether all healthcare professionals will be offered the jab within five weeks. 

Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci, who said the vaccine offers "a shot of hope" has urged people to remain vigilant and safe as the vaccine rollout enfolds.

Photos: MSCAPhotos: MSCA

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