President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has urged the public to get the COVID-19 booster shot at the earliest.
The Maldives is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 infections following the detection of the Omicron variant in the Maldives. On Saturday, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) commenced a vaccination drive to give a booster shot to fully vaccinated individuals above the age of 18.
In a tweet posted on Saturday, President Solih said the best defense against the Omicron variant is to boost vaccine immunity. Noting that the booster vaccine is now open to the public, the President urged the public to get the booster shot if six months had passed since their second dose.
Pfizer vaccine doses donated to the Maldives through the COVAX program are being used in the booster vaccine drive. Although HPA has been administering the booster shot to senior citizens and high-risk individuals, it was not opened to the general public until now due to delay in receiving vaccines and syringes. HPA has opened an online booking system to make appointments to receive the vaccine.
