The fourth dose, the second Booster Dose, is a reality in Mauritius. This controversial campaign started on Wednesday 13 April. The Ministry of Health is recommending it to the most vulnerable people for a better protection as winter approaches and the change of season makes it more difficult to cope with.
Avant-Guard government
Mauritius joins the ranks of countries that have adopted this second booster dose at the national level. These are countries with large population of elderly, co-morbid or otherwise immunocompromised people, or countries facing a large increase in recent cases. Mauritius follows Israel, the first country to adopt the 4th dose on 3 January, Chile, which started on 10 January, Denmark, which started on 12 January, Hungary and Spain, which started on 13 January and Sweden on 14 February.
This would be a pioneering move by the government. At the launch of the campaign at the Swami Vivekananda International Convention Centre in Pailles, the Minister of Health said that “the government is being proactive in the run-up to winter and the seasonal flu that will come with the change of season, but also forward-thinking towards the spread of new, highly contagious variants. Above all, we want to offer protection to the most vulnerable with multiple co-morbidities. If we take the example of diabetes, there is around 20% of the population affected. So, the second booster dose will be to reinforce the protection that is weakening.”
The 4th dose at Pfizer and Moderna
This fourth dose can be given 4 months after the third dose, and the Ministry recommends that it be given before six months have passed. For those who have contracted Covid 19 after the third dose, they are eligible 40 days after the end of the contraction. The second booster dose is compatible with all previous administrations of AstraZeneca/Covishield, Covaxin, Sinopharm, Sputnik V, Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. For those aged 59 years and over, the Pfizer vaccine will be administered. The same vaccine will be used for high-risk patients aged 40-59 years. The Moderna vaccine will be for high-risk patients aged 18-39, i.e. those on dialysis, organ transplants, cancer, severe respiratory disease, Down’s syndrome, immunosuppressants, HIV, obesity, hypertension and heart disease.
The vaccination campaign will be carried out in alphabetical order at the vaccination centers and at the five regional hospitals. Priority will be given to High Risk Patients. The Minister stressed that “for the moment, this is a recommendation“, but depending on the evolution of the pandemic and the appearance of new variants on the territory, “we remain on our guard, the second booster dose could be extended to other age categories. The Vaccination Committee will have to decide in due course,” said Dr Kailesh Jagutpal. As for the paediatric vaccination of 5 to 13-year olds, the Minister was brief: “We are waiting for the arrival of the vaccines to start the campaign.”
Covid to date
Cases are declining. To date, the Ministry of Health has reported that 34 new positive cases have been recorded and 5 admissions, including 1 to the New ENT Hospital. In Rodrigues, the number of new cases is 15 out of 221 PCR tests performed. 1 symptomatic case has been admitted to hospital.
1,006,630 people received the first dose in Mauritius and 32,227 in Rodrigues and 972,002 the second dose in Mauritius and 31,701 in Rodrigues and 612,834 people received the first booster dose in Mauritius and 13,576 in Rodrigues
