[WATCH] Infectious Disease Unit nurse to receive first COVID-19 vaccine next Sunday

Doctors will be administering the first COVID-19 vaccine next Sunday 27 December, the health minister has announced.

The first person to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine will be a nurse working at the Infectious Disease Unit (IDU).

Other staff working in Mater Dei Hospital’s emergency ward, ITU, IDU and wards caring for COVID-19 patients will also be receiving the vaccine next Sunday.

The first lot of 10,000 vaccines will arrive in the country next Saturday, after it was approved by the European Medicines Authority.

Workers at Mount Carmel Hospital, Boffa Hospital, the Good Samaritan Hospital will start being vaccinated on 30 December.

Workers and patients at St Vincent de Paule Hospital will be vaccinated between the 1 and 6 January.

On the 7 January, letters on the vaccination of elderly people over the age of 85 will be sent by the health ministry.

A new helpline has also been set up by the health ministry. People with concerns over the vaccine can call 145 for further information.

Health minister Chris Fearne called on people to get vaccinated. Stating that It will not be mandatory, he insisted it will change “our lives”.

Speaking on the COVID-19 variant being tracked in the United Kingdom, Fearne said that it appears to be doing more harm, while being easier to contract. However, he confirmed, the vaccine will also work on the variant.

Dr Michael Borg, who was also addressing the press conference, said this is not the first time the variant has been recorded, stating that something similar was recorded in South Africa.

Addressing the press conference, Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci said due to limits in studies, individuals under the age of 16 will not be vaccinated. Tests, she said, have only been carried out on adults.

Persons taking the vaccinate are encouraged to avoid getting pregnant in the months after taking the vaccine. She said the vaccine’s side effects include slight fever, fatigue and headache, however she insisted they do not last long.

Gauci said if you compare the few side effects a person can have with what COVID-19 can do, the safer choice is the vaccine.

Borg said this vaccine is a phenomenal leap in terms of technology as the vaccine contains no trace of the virus in it.

Borg said it was important both doses of the vaccine are taken to make sure it is 95% effective.

Gauci insisted that people who take the first dose must remain vigilant to not contract the virus before the second dose is taken.

Asked on congregations in homes ahead of Christmas, he once again insisted people should remain vigilant, stating that people should still abide by health measures.

He also said it is important to not invite elderly people to households.

READ MORE: COVID-19 vaccine could be available in Malta before the end of 2020