Covid vaccine doses expected to increase to 180,000-200,000 per week

Dr Abdullatif al-Khal

The number of Covid-19 vaccinations provided per week is expected to increase to 180,000-200,000 doses, a senior health official has said.Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Dr Abdullatif al-Khal, chair of the National Health Strategic Group on Covid-19 and head of Infectious Diseases at Hamad Medical Corporation, said despite the acceleration of the vaccination programme, more time is needed to inoculate community groups who are over 16 years old, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.He noted that over 650,000 doses of the vaccine have been given and more than 20,000 people receive the vaccine daily. Also, more than 200,000 people have taken both of doses, he added.Dr al-Khal also affirmed that Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines approved in Qatar are effective against the new strains of Covid-19, and that there is a decrease in the number of infections among the groups that have received the vaccination, which is an indicator recorded in a number of countries of the world and reflects the effectiveness of vaccines that have efficacy levels of over 90% so far, QNA said.He noted the importance of adherence to precautionary measures outside homes even after taking the vaccine, as well as preserving the principle of “one bubble” in social visits in addition to not leaving the house except for some necessity in the coming period. He stressed that the new restrictions will not be easy, but will contribute to curbing the pandemic and defeating the virus.He noted the importance of adherence to precautionary measures outside homes even after taking the vaccine, as well as preserving the principle of “one bubble” in social visits in addition to not leaving the house except for some necessity in the coming period. He stressed that the new restrictions will not be easy, but will contribute to curbing the pandemic and defeating the virus.On the concept of implementing the bubble system, he explained that it means that a group that meets frequently - with a limited number of people - does not mix with members of other families as much as possible. This also applies to friends who meet frequently, so that their number remains limited and fixed without mixing with others. “If we can keep these bubbles within one family and the same group of friends, we will be able to contain the virus,” he said.