Pfizer booster shot approved for over-18s by European Medicine Agency

Oct 5 2021

Pfizer BioNTech’s COVID-19 booster vaccine has been given backing by the European Union’s drug regulator on Monday for people aged 18 and over. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) sated that the booster doses may be considered at least 6 months after the second dose has been administered for anyone over the age of 18. Following studies which showed a rise in antibody levels following booster doses, the recommendation was issued by the agency’s human medicines committee.

The agency is in support of giving a third dose of either the Pfizer jab or the Moderna vaccine to people with severely weakened immune systems at least 28 days after their second shot. This decision also comes after studies showed a similar increase in antibody production against the COVID-19 virus in people with weekend systems and organ transplant patients. The EMA recommendations go to the European Commission for approval and then to health authorities in all 27 EU nations, who in turn decide the rollout strategy.

Numerous studies have indicated that the Pfizer, and even Moderna, shots remain strongly protective months after people receive second dose. Hospitalisation and death are massively decreased, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) urging wealthy nations not to use booster doses this year as there is no data proving they are necessary. It said that vaccines would be better used in helping developing countries which are still low on even administering their first shots.

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Photo Source: The Financial Times

1,756 parents called to answer for not sending kids to school in past 3 years

Oct 5 2021

1,756 parents have been called to answer before the Local Tribunal for failing to send their children to school over the past three school years. Minister of Education Justyne Caruana answered a question by MP Herman Schiavone with the information, stating also that the ministry continues to offer the social work service provided by various professionals in order to reduce absenteeism. These include guidance teachers, counsellors and career advisors.

Parents will be obliged to send their children to school physically as of this scholastic year. An exemption was admitted only at the height of the pandemic but last August the Government announced a new law. This involves the increase in fines and punishments for parents failing to send their children to school. The fine increased from €2.00 to between €100-€500 and/or three month jail term.

It was revealed by the Minister that in the last three school years, 35 children left school before the age of 16. During the 2018/19 scholastic year, 20 students left school, but this decreased by half during the following years. This information also comes after the Chamber of Commerce proposed to increase compulsory education from 16 to 18 years of age – a proposal which came under heavy criticism.

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Photo Source: Justyne Caruana FB

Life without social media: local reactions to global outage

Oct 5 2021

As Facebook was losing its mind trying to get its platform and connected sites Instagram and WhatsApp back up and running, Maltese users of the social media sites were evidently enjoying the blackout. Despite starting with initial frustration at not being able to reload Instagram’s feed, many returned to their pages expressing how refreshing it actually was to be rid of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp for a whole evening.

Commenters started to point out that we all have the power to switch off these platforms at any point in time – it just requires self respect and discipline. A global outage doesn’t need to occur for us to realise that reality outside these digital worlds exists. Even local artists expressed similar thoughts, with fashion designer Jayden Curmi asking for a social media break every single Monday. Kevin Paul posted to his story; ‘Must admit, today life without instagram, Facebook & WhatsApp was fun. Or shall I say it was life.’

Now that the platforms are up and running again, many are jumping back into the posting. Could this event really trigger a massive turn away from being constantly engulfed staring at the screen? Some however noted that such platforms are necessary for many brands and businesses to make their living. Others felt a massive personal void when the platforms were unavailable – a sign of dependency or at how social interaction has changed over the years?

According to DATAREPORTAL, there were 420.0 thousand social media users in Malta in January 2021. The number of users in Malta increased by 20,000 between 2020 and 2021, with the total number of users being equivalent to 95% of the total population. There is a catch to everything it seems as more of the world gets digitalised further. But our perceptions as to how much of our lives the platforms consume might begin to be altered after such occurrences.

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Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp make their post global outage comeback