The Acting Prime Minister, Mr Louis Steven Obeegadoo, along with other Ministers and Members of Parliament were inoculated on Friday with booster shots against COVID-19, at the Sir Harilal Vaghjee Memorial Hall, in Port Louis.
In a statement, Acting Prime Minister Obeegadoo underlined that the provision of booster shots is part of Government’s efforts to reinforce the vaccination campaign and protect the health of the population. Mauritius, he stated, is one of the first countries in the Indian Ocean to implement booster dose vaccination against COVID-19.
He indicated that as at now, 91% of adults have received their first dose of vaccines and around 68% of the population have been fully vaccinated. As regards to adolescents aged 15 to 17 years old, he observed that more than half of the adolescent population have already been inoculated with a first jab of Pfizer.
The Acting Prime Minister observed that with the considerable rise in COVID-19 cases in Russia, England and China, it is important for Mauritius to increase its immunity against COVID-19 hence the need for booster doses.
He also condemned the spread of fake news on vaccines against COVID-19, adding that a vaccinated person is considered as 10 to 15 times more protected than a non-vaccinated person.
The Acting Prime Minister Obeegadoo thus called on the population, especially those who are more vulnerable, to get their third dose in view to ensure maximum efficacy of the vaccine.
For his part, the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Jagutpal, underlined that those persons who have received their second doses of Sinopharm vaccine four months before will receive a booster dose of Sinopharm, while those who have received second doses of Covishield/AstraZeneca and Covaxin will be administered with booster shots of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine (Janssen).
As regards the vaccination campaign for adolescents, Minister Jagutpal indicated that more vaccines are expected in the near future and there is a possibility that Moderna vaccine may be available.
As for the Chief Health Promotion and Research Coordinator, Dr S. Kowlessur, highlighted that the booster dose vaccination campaign is being carried out in the five regional hospitals and vaccination centres around the island. He urged the population to follow communiqués issued by the Government Information Service as regards the vaccination programme for booster doses. To date, he added, 17,500 persons have already received their third jab.
