Malta to start rolling out COVID-19 vaccine on 27 December

Malta will begin rolling out the COVID-19 vaccine on 27 December, in line with the rest of the EU

17 December 2020, 2:01pm
by Laura Calleja

1 min read

The Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 is expected to be given authorisation on Monday

Malta will start rolling out the COVID-19 vaccine on 27 December, Health Minister Chris Fearne announced.

“The plan is for all EU countries to vaccinate on the same day," Fearne told journalists after a press conference at Mater Dei Hospital on Thursday.

Earlier in the week, the European Medicines Agency pushed forward the authorisation of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech to 21 December.

The agency said that it brought forward a special meeting to give the final go-ahead after the company passed on additional data requested by its experts. The meeting was originally scheduled for 29 December but has now been brought forward to Monday.

It's Europe's moment.

On 27, 28 and 29 December vaccination will start across the EU.

We protect our citizens together. We are #StrongerTogether #EUvaccinationdays pic.twitter.com/6VxDumysBL
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) December 17, 2020

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen also made the announcement on Twitter, saying that the vaccine will begin to be rolled out on the 27, 28 and 29 December across the EU.

“We protect our citizens together. We are #StrongerTogether,” von der Leyen said.

In Malta, the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine will be those 85 and over, healthcare workers, and people living or working in homes for the elderly.

Laura Calleja is features editor at MaltaToday