Qatar's fast vaccine drive shows early signs of curbing COVID-19, registration for vaccination of children aged 12-15 starts today

As Eid comes to an end, Qatar citizens and residents aged 30 years and above will be eligible to receive the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine. It is also important to note that registration for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 12 to 15 starts today via the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) website.

The inclusion of people aged 30 and above in the National COVID-19 Vaccination Program will further increase the number of vaccinated people in the country giving mass protection to society.

Now with more than 2 million vaccine doses administered through the program, Qatar continues its massive vaccine rollout to combat the virus spread.

To date, 2,002,018 doses have been carried out since the start of the campaign, with half of the adult population already received at least one dose and 36.4% have had two doses.

Qatar’s fast-paced vaccination drive is showing early signs of curbing Covid-19 infections. The number of new COVID-19 cases in the country continues to steadily decline as it accelerates daily vaccination rates.

With a rise in the number of vaccinated people, Covid-19 cases in Qatar dip below 300 since May 13, for the first time since the end of January.

COVID-19 Restrictions' Gradual Lifting

As the new COVID-19 cases are declining in the country, Qatar has also announced gradual lifting of COVID-19 restrictions starting May 28. This will take place in 4 phases, with a planned gap of three weeks.

To support the gradual easing of restrictions MOPH has set up a COVID-19 Vaccination Scheduling Unit (VSU) for the vaccination of business workers in support of the National COVID-19 Vaccination Program. The Unit supports the vaccination of workers in all businesses, but prioritization would be given to key businesses that are in direct contact with the rest of the community such as barber and hairdresser salons, restaurants, retail shops, supermarkets, hotels and other hospitality services. Businesses – not individuals - can contact the Unit directly to schedule vaccination appointments for their staff: VCIA@hamad.qa

Scheduling Unit set up to support vaccination of key service workers pic.twitter.com/bN9osT5E1F
— وزارة الصحة العامة (@MOPHQatar) May 10, 2021

COVID-19 Vaccine Efficacy and Effectiveness

MOPH stated that it is very encouraging that there is clear evidence that the vaccines are protecting people from developing symptoms of COVID and becoming ill.

Data up to the end of April in Qatar showed that just 1 percent of COVID-19 ICU admissions have been for fully vaccinated people and in Qatar, non-vaccinated people of all ages are 91 times more likely to be admitted to ICU with COVID-19 than fully vaccinated people.

Additionally, a study undertaken here in Qatar and published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that for fully vaccinated people – 14 days after receiving the second dose – vaccination is 89.5 percent effective at preventing infection from the UK variant and 75 percent effective at preventing infection from the South African variant, both are considered very high.

The same study also found vaccination to be 97.4 percent effective in preventing severe, critical, or fatal disease due to both the UK and South African variants.

COVID-19 Latest Announcements in Qatar

• Quarantine Exemption Validity Extended

MoPH recently announced the extension of the validity for quarantine exemption of all vaccines administered in Qatar from the previously approved 6 months to 9 months (except for 6 specific countries).

• Children Aged 12 to 15 years to Get Vaccinated

Meanwhile, children aged from 12 to 15 years are to be offered the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Qatar.

Parents will be able to register their children to take the vaccine through MoPH’s website (www.moph.gov.qa) from today, May, 16 (Sunday), after which they will be contacted by the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC).

Offering the vaccine to 12-15-year-olds in Qatar will help to ensure a return to greater normality when the school year starts this coming September.

How to Get Vaccinated?

Primary Health Care Corporation teams continue to directly contact people who are eligible by SMS or phone call to arrange their appointment. Anyone wishing to register their interest in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine can do so via the MOPH website https://app-covid19.moph.gov.qa/en/instructions.html