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COVID-19 Vaccinations in Malta

COVID-19 vaccinations in Malta
As of late May 2021, the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccinations in Malta has allowed 70% of Malta’s adult population to receive at least one dose. The country’s decreasing COVID-19 cases and the success of the vaccine rollout offer hope to Maltese officials as they plan to reopen the country.

The Rollout of COVID-19 Vaccinations in Malta

Thanks to Malta’s increase in vaccinated citizens, hospitalizations have decreased by 95%. The country’s health minister, Chris Fearne, reported that 42% of adults are fully vaccinated. The country has administered Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines. On June 8, 2021, the country’s active COVID-19 cases dropped to just 70, with a report of only one new case. Malta is among the growing number of nations, such as Israel and Bhutan, that are reporting successful vaccine rollouts.

Malta’s Declaration of Herd Immunity

With the successful vaccine rollout, the Maltese government has declared herd immunity. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has voiced uncertainty about such declarations. Due to new COVID-19 variants, the proportion of the population requiring vaccination to achieve herd immunity is unknown. The new variants reduce the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine, meaning vaccinated people may still be at risk.

According to the Bloomberg vaccination tracker, the 42% of the Maltese population that is fully vaccinated does not include children 16 and younger. As a result, the total percentage of the population that is fully vaccinated is only 36.5%. Despite its small population of only about 500,000 people, the country has reported more than 30,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 400 COVID-related deaths.

Looking Ahead

Though COVID-19 cases are falling in Malta, the U.K. has announced that it will not lift its Malta travel ban. When the U.K. revised its “green list” of countries whose citizens will not have to follow quarantine requirements upon entry, Malta was still not part of the list. However, other countries such as Portugal and the Netherlands have eased restrictions on traveling to Malta.

Although the majority of Malta’s adult population has received vaccinations, the mask mandate will remain in place until July 1, 2021. After July 1, fully vaccinated people will no longer have to wear masks outdoors as long as COVID-19 cases stay relatively low.

As the country reopens and allows travelers to visit again, the Maltese government has set a new requirement for people entering the country: a vaccination certificate or a negative PCR test. The government will also provide incentives to visitors, such as hotel and scuba diving vouchers, to promote tourism and boost the economy.

Maltese citizens will also need vaccine certificates in order to attend certain public gatherings. The certificates will act as proof for citizens who have received COVID-19 vaccinations in Malta. Fearne reports that as of June 10, 2021, Maltese people have downloaded more than 60,000 vaccine certificates.

The success of Malta’s COVID-19 vaccination rollout inspires hope for other countries. With more vaccine diplomacy and less vaccine nationalism, more countries can progress toward achieving herd immunity.

– Jordyn Gilliard
Photo: Unsplash

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Philippine COVID-19 Vaccination Set to Escalate

Philippine COVID-19 VaccinationThe Philippine COVID-19 vaccination program is set to escalate because the Philippine government has purchased 40 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.  This purchase follows previous vaccine purchases of the Moderna, AstraZeneca, China’s Sinovac and Russia’s Sputnik V vaccination. With the Pfizer-BioNTech purchase, the Philippines will have 113 million doses to vaccinate their population of 115 million people.

As of late June, the Philippines had only administered 8 million doses. The Philippine COVID-19 vaccination goal is to vaccinate at least 70 million people in the next 5 months. Carlito Galvez, chief of the Philippine COVID-19 vaccine administration, remarked that the new vaccine purchase “will significantly boost our national immunization program and will enable us to realize our goal of achieving herd immunity by year-end.” Vaccine distribution is prioritizing people who work out of their homes, healthcare workers and older citizens.

Struggles in Virus Response

Like much of the world, a second wave outbreak of the virus devastated the Philippines. From March to June 2021, the daily rate of documented infections ranged from 3,000 to 7,000.  It hit a peak of 15,310 daily cases on April 2. President Rodrigo Duterte received immense criticism from the international community for this second wave of the pandemic.  Although he employed one of the world’s strictest and longest lockdowns, he failed to implement mass testing or a robust vaccination program.

Duterte is already infamous for his troubled human rights record. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet described the ongoing situation as “highly militarized.” Unfortunately, according to Time, virus mismanagement is a common trend in authoritarian countries where rulers belittle the COVID threat and refuse to follow science and the advice of health officials. Duterte and rulers like him have gained the label of “medical populists.”  Time considers Duterte a “wild card” and stresses that what happens in the Philippines matters elsewhere because the Philippines provides workers throughout the world. Hopefully, the recent Pfizer-BioNTech deal is a step in the direction towards a more humane and effective virus response.

The Path Ahead

The Philippines will have to overcome many obstacles to reach herd immunity for its large population. Manila, the capital, lacks vaccine access, and COVID is surging in several provinces, which complicates vaccine distribution.

Despite these obstacles, in addition to the new purchase of vaccines, the government is consulting with experts on vaccine rollout. A team of medical experts from Israel is in the Philippines supporting the COVID response.  Israel is a world leader in vaccine dissemination.  Galvez reiterated that “we want to learn from the best practices being implemented in Israel and hopefully, replicate and use them in crafting our country’s policies.” Vaccinating children aged 12-15 is a top priority so Philippine children are now eligible to receive the single-dose vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech. The Philippines is also hoping to receive 44 million vaccine doses from COVAX, the international vaccine-sharing organization.  All these efforts should bolster the Philippine COVID-19 vaccination program.

– Conor Green
Photo: Flickr