The age limit for those who are eligible to take the COVID-19 vaccine has been further lowered. Now, Qataris of all ages and non-Qataris above 50 years can take the vaccine in the ongoing phase of the immunisation campaign.

In weekly Q&A session held on Wednesday, Ministry of Public Health's (MoPH) Head of Vaccination and the National Lead for the COVID-19 Track and Trace Dr Soha Al Bayat said, “The age has now been brought down.  Until February 9, the age group that was covered by the campaign was 60 and above plus those chronic complicated illnesses, and frontliners.  Effective from today (February 10), the age is now 50 and above for non-Qataris and all age groups for the Qatari population. Today it was announced for non Qataris its 50 years and above for non Qataris or those with complicated chronic illnesses and for Qataris it is for all age groups. Hopefully soon, the next phase will come and even those non-Qataris will also have a lower age limit but do register on the website that was announced a while back so the minute there is a change in the criteria or the phase you will be contacted for an appointment.”

Dr Al Bayat encouraged those who are interested in receiving the vaccine can do so even if they are not covered in this campaign can do so. “If you haven’t registered yet on the website which was announced several weeks ago, please go ahead and register or you can book an appointment with your local health centre to receive your vaccine.”

Answering to question whether those who previously got COVID-19 can register for the vaccine, Dr Al Bayat said that they can. Everybody who got COVID-19 infection in the past can register. At a later stage they will be eligible to take the vaccine and we highly recommend that they do register because so far the natural immunity from getting the infection hasn’t been stable within the population who got it.

She added that those who previously got COVID-19 are still at a risk of catching COVID-19. 

Explaining the difference between Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Dr Al Bayat said, “The technology used to produce the vaccine for both companies is the same, the concept is the same. The minor difference between the two vaccines is in regard to the storage and handling. The storage temperature for Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is -70oCand for Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine -20oC.”

She also explained that Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine the lowest age that has been approved to be administered the vaccine is 16 years so far and for Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine is 18 years. “But when it comes to the effectiveness and safety both companies are equal.”