Two clusters of cases have been found in vaccinated residents of elderly people's homes, Health Minister Chris Fearne announced on Thursday.
The minister delivered a press conference yesterday, along with Minister for National Heritage, Arts and Local Government Jose Herrera and the Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci.
The clusters are of nine and five cases respectively inside elderly homes. The residents, despite being vaccinated against the virus, tested positive but have not developed any serious complications - likely owing to the fact that they have been vaccinated.
The news means that the scheduled date for the start of the roll-out of the third booster vaccine shot has been brought forward.
Indeed, instead of kicking off on 13 September, elderly home residents will start to receive their third shot of the Covid-19 vaccine as from 6 September - this coming Monday.
Fearne said that the fact that clusters are now emerging in elderly homes shows that the time has come for the booster shots to start being administered to these residents.
He said that symptoms are many a time not serious, but elderly patients do tend to suffer from other illnesses or conditions which could lead to them having certain complications.
Invitations are, as from next week, also going to be sent to those who are immunosuppressed to get their booster shots.
These invitations will arrive by post.
He explained that the Moderna and Pfizer booster shots will be given to those who took those shots as well as to those who took AstraZeneca. As for those who took the Johnsson vaccine, studies are ongoing.
After this programme of booster vaccinations, those over the age of 70 who live in the community will be next, he said. "They will be offered the booster shot from the first week of October."
The administration of booster shots to the immunosuppressed is in line with the ECDC guidelines, Fearne said, highlighting that people with such a condition need a booster. He said, with regards to the elderly, that Malta was one of the first countries to start vaccinating the elderly, so it could not wait to see whether immunity starts diminishing in other countries first before taking a decision to give them the booster shot. The first round will see around 85,000 booster shots administered, he said.
The minister said that, in terms of those under the age of 70, as more data becomes available both locally and internationally, the health authorities will see if they need to offer booster doses to them. "One understands that the more time passes, the higher the possibility that immunity reduces. The vaccine doses were based on age groups so those over the age of 70 are the ones who have had the longest time pass since taking the original doses."