Roll-out begins for second Pfizer vaccine dose

Rachel Grech, the first person to receive the COVID-19 jab locally, has been administered her second vaccination dose to become the first fully-vaccinated person in Malta against the virus.

This marks the beginning of the roll-out for all second vaccine doses, three weeks after the first batches were disbursed.

Starting tomorrow, the Health Ministry will start publishing statistics illustrating the vaccine roll-out on their respective Facebook page.

As of two days ago, Malta has administered 9,496 total vaccinations, covering 1.85% of the population.

This marks an exponential improvement. Within the first week of the roll-out, Malta administered 1,940 doses. Meanwhile, health authorities are projecting that 13,200 doses will be administered by tomorrow at 2.57% of the population.

However, the inoculation process has taken a bumpy start. Nursing union MUMN are threatening industrial action due to administrative shortcomings throughout the vaccination programme.

The main issue cited by the union is that the current three minute gap between vaccine appointments is proving to be insufficient, as the Pfizer vaccine requires a 15 minute slot for proper preparation.

READ ALSO: Nurses' union threatens industrial action after COVID-19 vaccine 'chaos'

Inoculation appears to be slower in care homes, with only five of 37 care facilities having started the process. Between 7 and 12 January, only 260 elderly residents in such homes had received the vaccine, constituting around 6% of all elderly people in care homes.

In addition to this, only 38 carers in these homes have been administered the COVID-19 vaccine.