The MUMN has said that it is "really surprised and at the same time disappointed" over how Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne "misguided the public and conveyed false information" over the news that 50 Covid-19 vaccine doses were lost.

Fearne had told the press that between 50 and 60 doses were lost on Wednesday due to delays as a result of union action by the MUMN.

Fearne had said that vaccines were being mixed in the area they were administered to avoid waste, however procedure changed after the union had issued directives. He said that the directive limited the number of vials that are reconstituted on site, and so the government started reconstituting a number of vaccines from a central location, then taking the vaccines to the centres. As a result, a delay of a few hours in delivering doses resulted in the doses being lost.

The MUMN said: "It is quite clear that whoever is informing the Deputy Prime Minister has no clue about the eventualities occurring at the Primary Health Care Department (PHCD).

"There are no MUMN industrial directives on the Covid vaccination whatsoever," the union said.

"A meeting with the CEO PHCD was organised which resulted in an agreement and an internal memo was published by Primary Health Care Department to all staff, stating that the reconstitution and the administration of the Covid Vaccination should not exceed 80 doses a day at every Health Centre."

"The same PHCD ignored its own memo and issued appointments on Thursday well exceeding the 80 doses at Floriana Health Centre (FHC)."

"No Covid doses were thrown away at FHC or at any other health centre so this portrays how the Health Minster was also misinformed or purposely mislead."

MUMN is informed that last Wednesday, doctors were ordered to throw away 58 Covid doses since they were reconstituted without having any actual appointments. "58 vaccinations had been reconstituted for nothing. This again shows that the Minister Fearne was not again well informed and misled completely."

"For a reason that MUMN is not aware of, the doctors who accepted to give the vaccines the day before, on Thursday, refused or did not turn up to give the doses."

MUMN said that it had warned the PHCD that the disaster that occurred and was reported in the media three weeks ago, where old people were left waiting for hours in the rain, should not repeat itself. MUMN informed the PHCD that the amounts of appointments over 80 doses should be distributed to other Health Centres. In fact on Thursday, many Health Centres were fully equipped to administer the "extra" doses but all appointments were still issued at FHC;

"Instead, such appontments were spread over the 9 Health Centres, the PHCD still issued the same huge number of appointments (2nd dose) at FHC.  Most Health Centres had a negligible and mininmuim number of vaccinations to administer on Thursday and could have easily managed the extra doses given to FHC. The Poala Health Centre which is a major health centre had only 6 vaccinations to be adminsitered while Floriana had 120 vacciantions to be adminsitered. This shows that lack of coordination and logistics are taking place on who issued these appointments."

If Minister Chris Fearne is blaming the union for the fiascos occurring in the issuing of the appointments by the Primary Health Care Department, then he should have the courage to identify the problems and not blame the MUMN, the union said.

"Nurses in the Health Centres are very cooperative, doing sterling work and doing their utmost to cope with their normal duties besides administering the Covid vaccination.  Minister Fearne should have the decency to explain why the extra doses were not given to other Health Centres so that the public would not have to wait hours on end at the Floriana Health Centre."

The number of 80 vaccinations by four nurses a day was derived due to the process of reconstitution of the Covid vaccinations. "Clients are receiving the Covid vaccination from highly responsible nurses who are diligent in their line of work. The reconstitution cannot be done hurriedly or by taking shortcuts at the detriment of the people receiving the vaccination."

"So blaming MUMN for ghost directives shows low levels of ethical misconduct.  Our evidence that no directive have been issued is the attached memo. The whole blame and fault lies with the Primary Health Care Department itself which did not follow its own memo which was disseminated to all nurses at the same PHCD."

"Yesterday, Thursday 4 January, MUMN was officially informed that the CEO PHCD is no longer the Head of the Vaccination Programme. MUMN is informed that COO MDH is now heading the vaccination  programme, replacing the CEO PHCD and expressed his intent to meet with MUMN."