Malta's decision to administer the Covid-19 booster shots early was a wise decision to combat the virus, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne said.

He spoke during a meeting of the EU Council of Health Ministers. He stressed the need for EU citizens to take the vaccine in order for Europe to beat this delicate phase of the pandemic.

Fearne explained how Malta conducts sequencing tests on all positive cases in order to have exact information regarding the variants present in the country.

He reaffirmed the importance of countries continuing to buy vaccines together so that everyone will have direct and quick access.

This process, he said, will lead to Malta receiving the consignment of the vaccine for children at the same time as other EU countries, which will allow children over 5 to be offered the vaccine by end January.