VALLETTA, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Maltese Health Minister Chris Fearne announced on Friday that the country will offer booster jabs to the entire population, including children aged over 12.
Addressing a press conference, Fearne said that given the steep increase in the number of daily cases, Malta had brought forward its plan by a week to vaccinate people working in schools, healthcare workers, carers and pharmacists.
Malta on Friday registered 40 new cases, the highest daily tally in six weeks, up from the eight cases registered a week ago.
On the booster rollout, Fearne said those over 60 will be offered the jab from Dec. 6 while those over 45 will be invited to take the top-up jab from the first week of January next year before the jab is rolled out to the rest of the population.
Fearne urged the public to remain vigilant. However, he stressed that the health authorities saw no need for more measures to be introduced.
The country currently has 298 active cases of COVID-19. There are nine people in hospital, three of whom were in intensive care. A total of 56,585 doses of the booster shoots have been administered so far.
