Pfizer vaccine authorised by the US for children aged 12 to 15

May 11 2021

The Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was authorised by US regulators to be used on children as young as 12. This widens the country’s vaccination program immensely as the rollout in the US has significantly slowed down. The jab was previously available under emergency use authorisation (EUA) to under-16s. The FDA amended this decision to include the younger age groups and have started the process for full approval last week. Acting FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock stated that ‘today’s action allows for a younger population to be protected from COVID-19, bringing us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy.

She added that ‘parents and guardians can rest assured that the agency undertook a rigorous and thorough review of all available data, as we have with all of our COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorisations.’ Several countries have administered Pfizer to teens as young as 16, with Canada being the first to expand the age group to 12 and up.

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Photo Source: Kaiser Health News

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine highly effective against COVID-19 variants

May 11 2021

Two new studies based on the Pfizer vaccines used in Qatar and Israel have issued results that show that the pharmaceutical company’s vaccine is highly effective against dangerous variants. The vaccines are allegedly immensely powerful at preventing severe outcomes such as pneumonia and death caused by the UK and South African variant.

Infectious Disease Researcher Dr. Annelies Wilder Smith stated that ‘at this point in time we can confidently say that we can use this vaccine, even in the presence of circulating variants of concern.’ One of the new studies was based on more than 200,000 test subjects in areas where the variants were running rampant. Even though the vaccine is slightly less effective against the South African variant (at 72.1 to 75%), it still proved an immense aid to the battle against the pandemic.

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Photo Source: Financial Times

Malta to achieve herd immunity in coming weeks

May 11 2021

Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne announced that Malta could be reaching herd immunity in the coming weeks. He added that Malta will be calculating herd immunity at the point when 70% of the whole population has been vaccinated by at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. No specific date was given as to when herd immunity will be achieved as it is completely dependant on the vaccination process.

Fearne announced this following the news that vaccination will be open for over-16s to apply in the coming weeks. Malta currently has over 60% of the population vaccinated with at least one dose. 56% of over 30s have been vaccinated or registered. Swipe for information on how herd immunity works.

Herd immunity is achieved once the majority of a population becomes immune to an infectious disease and provides an indirect protection to those who are not immune. The larger the level of immunity, the larger the benefit and thus vaccination is crucial.

Should 80% of a population become immune to the virus, four out of every five people who come into contact with the disease would not become infected. However, if measures are removed and vaccination slows down, surges of infection will be noted before vaccination can reach everyone.

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Photo Source: CIDRAP, Chris Fearne FB

1094 persons fined for COVID-19 health measure breaches

May 11 2021

The past week saw 1,094 persons fined for breaching COVID-19 regulations. Covid19 Malta revealed on Facebook that 779 people were fined for not wearing their masks whilst 201 were found in groups larger than that permitted by the current regulations.

93 people were fined due to being in residences in larger than authorised numbers whilst 16 establishments were also fined for breaking their respective regulations. Another 5 people were found to be breaching quarantine rules.

Health authorities remind the public that following health measures is still crucial for mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the vaccine rollout having fulfilling its intended purpose.

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Photo Source: Malta Police Force FB, Covid19 Malta FB