The Ministry of Health is giving a one-month deadline for the population to get their booster dose. Announced at the NCC session on 14th January, the new deadline is 19th February, a date that will not be extended under any circumstances. The Minister also announced to boost vaccination campaigns
A month’s reprieve!
A temporary sigh of relief, a victory for the horde of protesters, the government did not turn a deaf ear to the multiplied calls for this postponement, but above all, it also means that there will be no more excuses for not administering the third dose! The ministry is extending the deadline for the new ‘fully vaccinated’ status recognised after the third dose from 15th January to 19th February. Thus, there will be no change in access to public health institutions, police and fire stations, educational institutions, reform institutions, probation centres, the port and airport, dormitories, restaurants, hotels and sports complexes among others. The population will have until Friday 18th February for the inoculation.
Vaccination going up
This decision was taken because the majority of the population has not yet been vaccinated, despite the national call for October 2021. To date, only 247,259 people have received the third dose, including 171,833 from Johnson & Johnson, 63,874 from Pfizer, 8,727 from Sinopharm and 2,825 from AstraZeneca. The national vaccination campaign is progressing well, with 957,029 people having received the first dose and 920,741 the second. 51,228 adolescents, aged 12 to 17 years, have received the first dose of Pfizer and 39,265 the second. In Rodrigues, the first dose reached 68.9% of the population, the second 65.6% and 5,731 received the third. According to Dr Sudhir Kowlessur, “14,000 have been admitted in the last 5 days to the 26 centres provided“.
New formulas
The Ministry of Health is adopting new formulations to boost vaccination campaigns from Monday 17th January. The Pfizer, a version of which is offered in first and second dose to teenagers from 12- to 17- years old, will also be offered to adults aged 40 and over in first and second dose! This is in addition to the third dose for adults aged 40 and over. This will be administered in the same 8 Vaccination Centres. In the other 6 centres, Johnson & Johnson remains the vaccine served as the first and booster dose for 18- to 39-year-olds. The Ministry of Health has already started the distribution of Pfizer in the 14 clinics that will start the vaccination campaign for all, that is, Pfizer in first and second dose to adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, and adults aged 40 years and over in first, second and third dose. They will continue to offer Johnson & Johnson in first and booster doses. To be noted, a clinic charges a service fee of Rs 300 for a vaccine. “Pfizer will be offered in first, second and third doses in hospitals to staff and patients classified as High Risk as well as to incoming and outgoing patients. The Ministry will deploy 6 mobile units in schools for vaccination of adolescents and 2 mobile units in workplaces such as hotels, customs, AML etc. We have enough vaccine for all doses,” confirmed Dr Sudhir Kowlessur.
Pediatric vaccination soon
Minister Jagutpal does not rule out the coming of a fourth dose “depending on the pandemic situation, mutation of variants and immune status of the population“. He confirmed that new people will be recruited for the ongoing vaccination campaigns, even after the current rush until 18 February. In addition, the campaign for the 5- to 11-year-old age group will soon be a reality. “The country is expecting to receive a shipment of 200,000 doses of Moderna from France with expiry dates in May and June 2022. We are also hoping to get a shipment from Pfizer earlier, but all indications are that our ‘Paediatric Pfizer’ campaign will not start before April,” said Dr Jagutpal.
Appeal to the public
The Minister appealed to the population to complete their vaccinations before the new date of 18th February, to show understanding to the ministry’s officers at the vaccination centres when announcing that the limit of 800 people has been reached, but above all, to responsibly fill in the consent forms that will be used to create the digital vaccine cards that will be used to create the Digital Vaccine Pass. To date, only the data of 40,000 third-dose vaccinees have been entered into the computer system
Covid to date – 12 deaths in one week
Of these 12 deaths, 2 were under 60 years of age. 5 victims were not vaccinated and 11 patients had multiple comorbidities.
To date, the country has recorded 109 new positive cases. We have passed the 100s again, with 73 cases recorded on Thursday and 61 cases on Wednesday. And during the past week, via PCR tests, the country has recorded 526 local and 166 imported cases. For this 14th January, we count 22 cases of admissions of which 18 in regional hospitals and 4 in New ENT Hospital and for the past week, 107 admissions of which 93 in regional hospitals and 14 in New ENT Hospital. 3 are on ventilation, of which 2 are fully vaccinated and 1 is unvaccinated. The 11 others are on oxygen, 7 of which are not vaccinated.
