COVID: 45% of vulnerable people yet to receive first vaccine dose

Around 10,350 people classified as vulnerable persons are yet to receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. 

The information was tabled in parliament by Health Minister Chris Fearne in reply to a question by Nationalist MP Claudette Buttigieg.  

Fearne said that from around a cohort of 23,000 people considered vulnerable, around 55% have received the COVID vaccine.  

He said the roll out is ongoing. 

READ ALSO: Malta maintains highest COVID-19 vaccination rate in EU

As of Tuesday, Malta administered 101,776 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, of which 34,181 were second doses. 

The three COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in the EU so far – Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca – require people to take two doses a number of weeks apart. 

The European Medicines Agency is expected to approve a fourth vaccine produced by Janssen on Thursday. This vaccine requires only one shot. 

Malta has seen a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, with 248 new cases being registered today along with one death. 

READ ALSO: A guide to the new COVID-19 restrictions in Malta