Alfred Sant cautions people not to let guard down, despite COVID-19 vaccine news

Labour MEP Alfred Sant has cautioned people to curb their optimism in light of recent announcements that a COVID-19 vaccine may soon be on the horizon.

Taking to social media on Monday, Sant said that the public’s optimism in the vaccine should not mean that COVID-19 measures are not followed.

Sant noted that despite the optimism surrounding the vaccine, nothing was cast in stone yet. He also said delays and setbacks could still occur at this stage, and that information could be revealed to be too optimistic, as there are many aspects of the disease that are not yet well known.

“I am saying all this not to put a damper on people's hopes but to warn against the temptation of lowering our guard too early by abandoning the health and safety measures intended to keep COVID-19 at bay," Sant said.

The preliminary analysis on the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine found that it was 90% effective. Their vaccine has been tested on 43,500 people in six countries and no safety concerns have been raised.

Health Minister Chris Fearne has repeatedly said that Malta would start receiving the COVID-19 vaccine "within days of its release".  Back in August, Fearne had confirmed that Malta has been allocated a total of 330,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Prime Minister Robert Abela has made similar claims. On Sunday he said Malta would be one of the first countries to receive the vaccine. He said the joint procurement process to acquire the vaccine, coordinated by the European Commission, was partly initiated by Fearne.

"We will be among the first to receive a vaccine. We will not be stuck behind a list of other countries," Abela said.

The eventual roll out of a vaccine will enable countries to lift certain restrictions and kickstart economic recovery. However, much depends on when the vaccine will be available and how fast it can be rolled out globally.