DILI, 3 january 2022 (TATOLI) – The Government of Timor-Leste has planned to introduce Covid-19 booster jabs over the ‘Omicron’ concern.
The Covid-19 vaccine third dose would be given to the elders over 60 as well as people with underlying conditions.
“Today, we have an urgent meeting with Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak to talk about the new variant ‘Omicron’. We also talk about the third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to be introduced very shortly,” the Minister of Health, Odete Maria Freitas Belo told TATOLI, after meeting Prime Minister, in Dili, on Monday.
She said the booster jabs would be administered first for 6000 people who have received their second dose of the AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccine.
“These 6000 people included those who are over 60, people with underlying conditions such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, TB, diabetes, and the front-line workers,” said Belo.
She said the Ministry of Health keeps implementing the previous measures to strictly control the entry points, including the airport, port, and the border zone: “The newcomers must present their Covid-19 vaccine card. If they don’t have it, then they would be under quarantine.”
Since Timor-Leste’s outbreak began in April 2020, the country has recorded 19.839 cases, 19.709 recoveries, and 122 deaths.
In Timor-Leste, of the 754.864 adult groups, 83.4 percent had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, of which 68.2 percent have been fully vaccinated.
At least four municipalities have now fully vaccinated more than 70 percent of their adult residents. Four of these municipalities included Dili (80.4%), Viqueque (81.6%), Covalima (76.5%) and RAEAO (71.8%). However, the vaccination rate is low in Ermera and Bobonaro with 49.9% and 51.1% respectively.
So far, Timor-Leste had received a total of 1.213.279 doses of Covid-19 vaccines, consisting of 1.012.850 doses of AstraZeneca, 100.000 doses of SINOVAC (China), and 100.620 doses of Pfizer vaccines (USA).
Of the 1.012.650 AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines, 100.800 doses were given by COVAX Facility, 24.00 doses from New Zealand, 777.850 does were donated by the government of Australia, 142.000 doses from Portugal, and 168.000 doses were given by the Japanese government.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges Rosario
