Qatar’s success in handling COVID-19 pandemic has been recognised globally by many international organisations including the World Health Organisation. Qatar not only provided excellent treatment to coronavirus patients without any discrimination between the citizens and residents but also through very effective and speedy vaccination campaign curtailed the pandemic.
Under this well-managed vaccination campaign, 4,908,135 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered since the start of program while 85 percent of the total population are now fully vaccinated with two doses in the country.
No doubt that the high rate of vaccination within Qatar’s population has been one of the most important factors in Qatar’s successful COVID-19 strategy in controlling the spread of pandemic. The number of new daily COVID-19 cases, hospital admissions, and deaths has remained very low recently.
Now the time has come for fully vaccinated people to get the booster dose to avoid any new wave in the community. The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has urged all people who had their second COVID-19 vaccine dose more than six months ago to get COVID-19 booster vaccine without delay.
Dr. Soha Al Bayat, Head of Vaccination at the Ministry of Public Health, said that the vaccine campaign against COVID-19 in Qatar has been one of the best in the country and worldwide, but the battle against COVID -19 is not over yet. “We need to work together to ensure the safety of the community and this is why we urge all those who are eligible to do so as soon as possible,” she added.
Al Bayat emphasised that scientific research about COVID-19 vaccine continue, and most recent clinical studies have shown that the immunity acquired from the doses of the COVID- 19 vaccine started to decrease and drop six month after taking the second dose.
At the same time, according to the Ministry’s official the first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 years will arrive in Qatar in January next year.
Chief of Paediatric Infectious Disease and Medical Director of Outpatient Clinics at Sidra Medicine, Dr. Mohammad Janahi, recently urged families to get their children vaccinated once the campaign begins in Qatar.
He also said that studies have shown that this age group contributes to 63 percent of COVID-19 transmissions, especially among unvaccinated people.
The vaccine is safe and effective for kids and no unusual symptoms were detected during studies, only minor side effects were reported. The dose given to children 5 to 11 years is less compared to the one given to adults.
