The public in Qatar cannot choose the type of COVID-19 vaccine they will be administered in Qatar, 

Dr Soha Al Bayat, Ministry of Public Health's Head of Immunization Department, has said.

Which vaccine a person gets will be determined by what is available at the health centre allotted to that person when his or her turn for the vaccination comes, she told Qatar TV in an interview.

Qatar has so far approved the use of vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Both the vaccines are proven to have efficacy rates of more than 95 percent, Dr Soha said. While Pfizer vaccine was the first to receive Qatar’s approval, Moderna’s obtained the nod recently after clinical trials proved its safety and efficacy.

The two vaccines are of the same level and any differences between them are simple, she said. For instance, she continued, the second dose of Modena is given after 28 days while the duration is of 21 days for the Pfizer vaccine; the Pfizer vaccine is approved for those over 16 years of age, while only those above 18 years can take the Moderna vaccine.

Addressing the possibility of infection after vaccination, Dr Soha said there have been such instances but only among person who only took the first dose of a vaccine and continued to live normally — without wearing masks and not maintaining social distancing. She highlighted the fact the vaccines have an efficacy rate of around of 95 percent, which means there is a small percentage of risk for even those who have taken two doses.

Also, there can be a possibility of an individual getting infected on days before or after the second dose. It takes up to two weeks for immunity to reach the required level, which means it is possible for them to get infected, Dr Soha said.

“This does not indicate at all the ineffectiveness of vaccines that have shown high efficacy outside clinical trials, but rather confirms the necessity of care and adherence to instructions and instructions all the time.”