As of today, fully vaccinated citizens may remain mask-less in public spaces as long as they are alone or in groups of 2 full vaccinated people. Currently, 320,604 people are fully vaccinated in Malta at the moment, with 70% of Malta and Gozo having been fully vaccinated until June 26.

While vaccines may prevent one from getting sick, the do not necessarily prevent infection or spreading of the germ. With the second case of the Delta variant being found in Malta on June 30 and Health Minister Chris Fearne predicting that 90% of new cases will be of the Delta variant within seven weeks, one may raise certain concerns.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged fully vaccinated citizens to still wear masks and practice the necessary health measures in light of the recent spread of the highly infective Delta variant.

As restrictions slowly start to ease and some leave the house with their masks in their back pockets, some may worry of the potential risk of still being infected. The World Economic forum has highlighted that vaccines have far outperformed their expectations, shedding light on Israel’s performance with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine found to be 95.3% effective after both jabs.

The WEF also stated how vaccine developers are aiming towards the achievement of “sterilising immunity”, where vaccination blocks the virus from getting into the body, meaning that vaccinated will not be able to get or transmit the virus. As it stands, vaccinations are expected to reduce transmission of the COVID-19 virus, but the situation is tricky due to asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic situations, which is why vigilance and caution must remain during the months of summer.

#MaltaDaily