People aged 16 or more can apply for the Covid-19 vaccination as from next Monday, Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne said today.

The number of active cases has fallen under 200 for the first time in 9 months, he added as he addressed an activity celebrating International Nurses Day.

“During these last few weeks, we saw a drop in cases in the country. Today, for the first time in 9 months, the active cases have fallen under 200 in our country,” the minister said.

The minister appealed for those who are over 30 and still haven’t applied for the vaccine to do so.

All of those who wish to apply for the vaccine can do so by registering through the website vaccin.gov.mt or by sending an SMS with their ID card number on 99180045 in Malta and 99180044 in Gozo.

Although there are positives, the Minister appealed for people to remain vigilant. “These numbers are going down because of both the vaccine and the measures. But my appeal stays that those measures that have not been eased, we need to follow them,” Fearne said.

The minister also remarked that up till today, more than 395,000 doses have been given. Around 130,000 people will be fully vaccinated. This means that 61% of people have had at least one dose of the vaccine.

Regarding the possibility of needing a booster dose, Fearne said that the country is prepared for this year and is preparing for next years, if need be. “We have ordered enough doses so that we have for children as well as booster doses until the year finishes. For 2022 and 2023, we will have half a million doses ordered just in case we need it, and which might possibly be adapted to new variants.”

“This success happened due to good leadership and work ethic of nurses,” Fearne said.

The Minister also remarked that the country has no Indian variants, and genome sequencing of all the cases is being performed to make sure.

In certain cases in the future, where there will be a number of people present in certain places, it might be the case that a person would have to show his vaccine certificate, the Minister said. “This is to protect everyone who attends these events.”

Answering questions by this newsroom regarding vaccination passports, Fearne said that discussions are ongoing and that Malta is one of the most advanced countries in this regard. He said that the Government had discussions with a number of countries outside the EU, including the UK.

Regarding travelling with children, Fearne said that when it comes to unvaccinated children due to the fact that it is, as of yet, unavailable for them, they would need to take a swab test as they arrive back in Malta when travelling to amber countries.