Pfizer BioNTech vaccine safe against COVID-19 Indian variant

May 23 2021

The SE of pharmaceutical company BioNTech stated on Thursday that the COVID-19 vaccine developed in association with Pfizer should be as effective in dealing with the Indian variant of COVID-19 as it was with the South African variant. Blood analysis of vaccinated individuals indicated that the antibodies elicited by the jab were able to combat the mutated virus.

Chief Executive Ugur Sahin stated that the company had the opportunity to test the vaccine against more than 30 variants, some of minor threat and others, such as the South African variant, a far more transmissible mutation. The vaccine proved effective against them all so far, despite this particular variant being more transmissible and far deadlier than its parent virus.

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Photo Source: Financial Times

Only 23 cases in past week with zero deaths in a fortnight

May 23 2021

Malta has only registered 23 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, with the amount of active cases well below 100. There have also been no deaths for two consecutive weeks, showing not only that the health restrictions and vaccine rollout has its desired effect, but also signifying an easing on the health and medical system which has been tirelessly working to safeguard lives.

Statistician Vince Marmara also stated that the r-factor for COVID-19 stands at around 0.28, which is the lowest since the pandemic first made its unwelcome debut. Marmara told The Malta Independent that when ‘one compares the new cases to the number of swab tests that are being taken, one can see that the percentage has continued to decrease’ at a 0.2% positivity rate.

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Photo Source: Vincent Marmara FB, LoveHolidays

World opens with safe mass events as Malta lags behind

May 23 2021

The following photos have all been taken from different events throughout this single week: Monaco Grand Prix, Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam, and Premier League Match day 37. Despite the world seemingly opening up and experimenting with safe approaches to mass events, Malta, which has one of the best vaccination rollouts and is so close to herd immunity, still is not on the pathway to normality when it comes to the cultural and entertainment sector.

As of time of writing, Malta has 104.46 total vaccinations per 100 persons who received their jab, ranking behind Israel at 104.46. Herd immunity is also in immense proximity. Despite this, social media was taken by storm following a statement by Jason Micallef that mass events are being ruled out completely for the summer.

Test events and parties where attendees did not wear masks but provided proof of vaccination and/or PCR test results are currently yielding early results which indicate their safety. Malta still is not moving towards this approach however, even banning DJs from playing. Many are calling for a reassessment of the situation, especially as tourism is set to reopen by June, with the cultural sector being one of the most important for tourism to flourish.

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Malta expected to reach herd immunity in coming hours

May 23 2021

The herd immunity threshold is about to be surpassed by Malta in the coming hours. Considering that by May 10th, the island had 60% of its population vaccinated by at least the first dose, a 7-day moving moving average prediction would mean that today, 23rd May, Malta could in fact achieve this goal. This is because an average daily increase of 3,124 doses is being administered.

The National Statistics Office states that 432,616 adults are eligible for vaccination, out of which 70% need to be vaccinated for Malta to declare herd immunity. The achievement of herd immunity was seen by many as a gateway back to normality, however authorities still maintain that several health restrictions are to be kept in order to avoid spikes. Mass events are still however being ruled out for the entirety of summer 2021, even though herd immunity will be well achieved by then.

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Photo Source: Charmaine Gauci FB, LandLoopers