The government this morning announced that free vaccination for both influenza and omicron (Covid-19) will be offered to the general public later this month.

People aged 55, people with chronic conditions, pregnant women, people in institutions and children aged between 6 months and five years can be vaccinated as from 17 October.

For the rest of the population, the vaccinations will start on 31 October.

Announcing the campaign, Health Minister Chris Fearne said that the two vaccinations can be given on the same day, from government health centres and community clinics. Most of them will be opened seven days a week.

He said that people who are infected with both viruses at the same time may suffer severe consequences, and therefore he urged the public to participate in the campaign.

Fearne said that the government has bought 132,000 influenza vaccines, and is ready to purchase more if the take-up is higher. 17,000 of them with be anti-influenza nasal sprays to be given to children.

In 2019, 75,000 people took the jab, and this went up to 181,000 in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, before going down to 117,000 in 2021.

He said that the predominant influenza strain this year will be the H3N2 which, when in past years was prevalent, had caused more hospitalisations than usual.

With regard to Covid, the minister said that now it has become endemic, and it is advisable that a jab is taken once a year, as with influenza.

Each year, the government encourages the population, especially the older generations and the more vulnerable, to take the flu vaccine.

This year, the campaign will run concurrently with the omicron booster vaccination plan. So far this year, people over 60 have been asked to take the second booster (fourth jab in all) against Covid-19.

Asked about the Covid-19 situation in hospital, Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci said that there are currently four patients, of whom none is in the ITU section.

The minister also said that the government is preparing amenments to the law to remove anomalies which could lead to doctors not taking action for fear of committing a crime.

Last month, Fearne had said that the government will seek to amend the law after an American woman claimed she was denied termination of a pregnancy in Malta.

Asked for an update, the minister said that these discussions have started internally and the amendments will be presented in parliament in the coming days.