Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela has warned that disinformation surrounding vaccines is costing lives, with Malta recording lower influenza vaccination uptake as public fear over vaccination programmes grows.

In an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday, Abela expressed deep concern about declining influenza vaccination rates, and urged the public not to turn away from vaccines that continue to protect the most vulnerable.

"The trend that concerns me most is that many people are scared of taking the influenza vaccine," Abela said, while acknowledging that the turnout for the vaccination drive of the current influenza season was lower than the previous one.

Abela said that the process of developing and obtaining the vaccine for Covid-19 was perhaps accelerated, which made it understandable for people to be afraid of the unknown.

"Science shows otherwise. While I understand the angst that (the Covid-19 situation) brought about, science has shown that these vaccines are safe, especially for elderly and vulnerable patients. Lives have been saved. There is no doubt about that," Abela said.

Apart from the Covid-19 vaccine, government is offering the influenza vaccine, just like it has done for decades.

"I do not believe that we should be scared of taking the vaccine for influenza, and this is something which hurts me. Side effects are inevitable, but the vast majority are transient, and it is very rare to experience long-term effects," Abela said.

He said the government is also offering the pneumococcal vaccine, which protects against bacteria causing serious illnesses like pneumonia, meningitis, and bloodstream infections (sepsis), and is taken once in a lifetime.

"It is a strong government investment, we are giving it out for free, whereas in various other countries such as the UK, the government is providing it to those over 65+, and Malta is offering it to everyone," Abela said.

He said that it is saddening that there are those who are afraid to take vaccines, as not only will vaccinations help immunity towards certain viruses, it will also reduce severe symptoms.

"The experience of influenza we have seen abroad is quite severe, and had vaccination rates been high, it would've been less severe," Abela said.

Abela said that Mater Dei is still coping with a high demand due to influenza cases, common at this time of the year.

"In the festive period, we had 1,040 beds occupied (from a total of 1,200), not total occupancy, but close. This is a trend we see each year during these times. It worries us, but this is where the wise choice of having public-private partnerships comes in, where private hospitals can and are in fact helping us," Abela said.

"However, the solution to avoid these surges in admissions is taking the vaccine. Had the government not offered it, or offered to pay just half of it, I would understand the argument that no effort was being shown by government to address the issue. However, there is a drive (for people to take the vaccine); in fact this year we have extended the vaccination period to January from December," Abela said.

Abela said that disinformation on social media worries him immensely.

"There are many positive things about social media; however, on the vaccination matter, this is something which ... is costing lives. There are no two-ways about it, this disinformation causes harm to the individual and the system," Abela said.

Abela was asked if the lower vaccination rates meant that the campaign was not as effective, to which he replied in the positive.

"Of course, because of lower uptake. We are talking about seasonal vaccination here, and if one looks at other illnesses, such as the dangerous smallpox, it is now rarely talked about, the reason being is vaccinations," Abela said.

Abela said that in places such as England, the uptake of children who are vaccinated against Mumps, Measles, and Rubella (MMR) - which today are also rarely talked about in countries which have good vaccine uptakes - has decreased by 70%, which he described as alarming.

"That is something that I do not wish to see in Malta, where infant mortality is at its lowest, like everywhere in Europe. Thank God, it is very low. However, if we start playing with the notion of not giving these vaccinations to our children, we will go backwards. It would be a large hit to the robust health systems we have," Abela said.

Abela said that nowadays, there are vaccines which protect against certain cancers, such as HPV, which relates to the cervix.

There is an effort to develop a vaccine against pancreatic cancer, which is one of the three cancers where the prognosis and treatment results are not improving. If, when developed, people do not take the vaccine, we will keep seeing patients with a pancreatic cancer diagnosis die before their time, Abela said.

"If we have these vaccines for influenza, pneumococcal and also for Covid-19, which are bringing about results, are we going to start being afraid of them? There is an appetite for more vaccines, not less," Abela said.

Investment in hospitals

Abela said that infrastructure must be the real "game-changer" for Malta's healthcare system, as government's hospital master plan for Gozo General, St Luke's and Karin Grech is currently undergoing evaluation by an international company, reputed for its involvement in several hospital developments around the world.

The Health Minister detailed the upcoming investments towards the country's healthcare systems to alleviate the extreme pressure on Mater Dei Hospital.

Abela mentioned the Emergency Department at Mater Dei as the healthcare system's greatest fragility since he became Health Minister; however, he said that the issue should be looked at in an international context too.

He cited studies from the US showing that even in highly privatised, high-cost systems, such as that in North America, emergency patients still waited hours to be processed.

Malta, Abela said, is better in some areas and worse in others, and the solution is the expansion in infrastructure.

Abela said that the emergency department is planned to be expanded from 35 to 70 cubicles, and although the first tender exceeded the budget, negotiations are still ongoing and Abela said he remains optimistic that there will be developments this year.

In the short term, he highlighted two already existing reforms: the First Senior Medical Contact system for ESI-1 and 2 urgent patients, which has reduced urgent waiting times by almost 40%, and the 1400 helpline, used by nearly 17,000 people since its inception in May 2025, of whom only 19% required emergency care.

"Had we not rolled out the helpline, the situation would have been much worse," he said.

Abela explained how less urgent cases (ESI-3, 4 and 5) can be treated elsewhere, while the emergency department must prioritise ESI-1 and ESI-2 cases.

He added that two new wards are being created in the former administration area at Mater Dei, adding between 50 and 60 beds.

Abela also outlined plans to expand the emergency department, build the Acute Psychiatry Unit, and later expand the ITU by 40%, describing these three units as a single interconnected project.

The Health Minister also described the Vincent Moran Centre as a major pillar of the new model.

The centre is expected to handle around 200,000 patient episodes a year, and while two operating theatres are ready, more equipment is still arriving. Abela said that a further two additional endoscopy rooms are also planned.

He said that the Medical Investigations and Treatment Unit (MITU) will move entirely from Mater Dei to Vincent Moran Centre, expanding from two small rooms into a space the size of a basketball court.

"The service has outgrown the infrastructure in Mater Dei," Abela said.

He clarified that Vincent Moran Centre will not necessarily reduce staffing pressure on Mater Dei, as the same staff will be offering services in Paola, but it will free Mater Dei to focus on inpatient care, while other sites handle day-case services.

Medicine shortages and generics

Abela said that only five medicines are currently out of stock from a government formulary of over 1,000 medicines, and shortages are due to international logistics, not government inaction.

He said that the number of medicines out of stock in the POYC system is negligible.

"If the medicine is available on the market, it is coming into the country, there are no doubts about that. There are no contractors who are making excuses that they cannot bring in the medicines, that is not the case," Abela said.

Referring to a controversial comment made by PN Leader Alex Borg about generic medicines being inferior, Abela strongly defended generics, saying that any system relying only on originator medicines would lose 90% of its supply.

"The generics market, obviously, is tested to the same standard of the originator. I do not believe I have more to add to that, except that if you have a country that relies on the originator drug only, the medicine supply for that country drops by 90%. It's as simple as that," Abela said.

Abela said that PEP is already provided for free for those who suffer from HIV, and that PrEP will also be added to the government formulary in early 2026, a few weeks later than promised, in the coming days.

"Panicked statements are not acceptable," he said, criticising the Opposition for not verifying information.

"Yes, we promised it (PrEP) for 2025, and I admit we did not manage for 2025, but we will start offering this medicine a few weeks into 2026," Abela said.

Digitalisation - without leaving anyone behind

Abela was asked if claims that the POYC system will become paperless are true, to which he said that that is the road forward, but warned about the digital divide.

"We must not leave anyone behind," he said, stressing that not all elderly citizens own smartphones.

He insisted that digital systems must always retain a human "back door" to protect social inclusion.

"A social democratic system works because government takes care of everyone, and that is something we cannot compromise on," he said.

The second part of the interview will be carried on Monday