People are receiving fake appointments telling them to go and get their vaccine booster shot, with the result of confusion being created at vaccination hubs.

The messages (an example of which is below), which are being sent from a Maltese number advise that health authorities are accepting walk-ins at vaccination centres between 8:30am and 3pm between Monday and Friday.

A spokesperson for the Health Ministry warned that the messages are fake and that official appointments will include the ID card of the person who has the appointment, and the time and place of their appointment.

The sender of the real vaccine appointment will also appear as “VACCINE” on people’s mobile phones.