Health Minister Chris Fearne has said that 36,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine arrived in Malta on Monday after a delayed shipment led to a number of vaccine appointments to be postponed in the past few days.

The Malta Independent reported on both Sunday and Monday that a number of jab appointments had been postponed because of a shortage in Pfizer doses.

People who turned up for their second dose today were told that their appointment will have to be postponed as no vaccines are available. They were told to call on Friday, but their second jab is not guaranteed on that day.

Readers who contacted this newspaper yesterday were told to return on Wednesday, but it is unclear whether the vaccines will be available by then.

A Health Ministry spokesperson told The Malta Independent that "some Pfizer appointments had to be rescheduled by a couple of days due to less doses being delivered by the supplier."

"These individuals have been given a new date and will be vaccinated shortly", the ministry spokesperson said.

Fearne confirmed during a press conference on the vaccine certificate that 36,000 doses had arrived in Malta, and that those who had seen their appointment postponed will be contacted in the coming days.

The Malta Independent yesterday reported that while over 7,000 vaccine doses are generally administered every day, only 4,212 doses of the vaccine were administered between Thursday and Friday, and only 2,902 doses were administered between Friday and Saturday.

People who are calling the helpline are not being given a day when to return, and when they point out that they should be getting their second dose within a certain time for the vaccine to remain effective, they are told “there are many like you”.

This is the first major hitch in the vaccination drive Malta has been implementing since December.

More than 500,000 doses have been administered, with more than 200,000 people being fully vaccinated.