[WATCH] COVID-19 briefing: 48 new cases and 53 recoveries

48 new cases of COVID-19 were registered on Friday, the health ministry has said.

232,335 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered until Thursday. Of which, 65,205 were second doses.  

Total recoveries stand at 28,561, while total cases registered stand at 29,511.

There are 549 active COVID-19 cases.

No deaths took places in the last 24-hours.

The total number of deaths is 401.

2,036 swab tests were carried out in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of swabs to 828,497.

COVID-19 briefing 

Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci advised those over 60 who still have not received a vaccination appointment should call 145.

Gauci said the health authorities have an alert system that pre-dates COVID-19; the National Authority received reports from the public and clinicians of alleged side effects experienced by patients.

Gauci said the authority had received 119 reports of side effects; 77 were related to Pfizer and 41 AstraZeneca.

She said the majority were on the "minimal side," including fever, fatigue, coughs and some migraines.

"There's no necessary link. But these side effects would have been observed days within the vaccine are administered," she said.

75% of cases detected in Malta are the UK variant, which has been found to be more infectious than the original strain. 

Gauci said that 15 people were in the ITU at Mater Dei Hospital.  

Other admissions: 10 in infectious diseases unit • 20 in other wards • 1 in Gozo hospital (0 ITU) • 5 in Sir Paul Boffa hospital • 4 in St Thomas hospital • 3 in the Good Samaritan facility • 1 in Mount Carmel Hospital • 5 Karin Grech.

Gauci said that the largest cluster was once again households with 164 cases, followed by social gatherings with 52 cases. There were 28 cases from the workplace cluster, while 20 were imported.  

On average, 96% of the residents in care homes have been vaccinated.

Questions segment 

Asked whether people who have a history of thrombosis will be given an alternative to AstraZeneca. Gauci said EMA had listed blood clotting as a side effect. However, it has been classified as 'rare'.

There are no contraindications for the vaccine, and no specific cohort was identified as not being suitable for AstraZeneca.

Gauci said that the health authorities have a policy of administering all doses and that none were wasted. There was a delay in the amount of Pfizer vaccines scheduled to arrive this week, which explained why some people might have been sent home.

Gauci also said, people, do not need to worry if they do not receive their second dose on the original date, as a one or two-day variation does not make a difference since there is a specific time window.

Gauci said any changes to the hospital visiting hours would be announced in due course.

Gauci also advised that it was important for people to take both doses of the vaccine. She said there would be no mixing of vaccines.

Regarding an illegal party that took place over the weekend, Gauci said it was unfortunate, as most of the population was abiding by the measures. “The case has been handed over to the police,” she said.

READ MORE: Malta Medicines Authority recommends no change in AstraZeneca vaccine roll-out