Several senior health officials in Qatar took the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine yesterday.

The health officials stressed the importance of taking the second shot of the Pzifer-BioNtech vaccine, which is administered 21 days after the first one.

Among the health officials who got their second dose of the vaccine were: Dr Abdullatif Al Khal, chair of the National Health Strategic Group on COVID-19 and Head of Infectious Diseases at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC); Sheikh Dr Mohamed Al Thani, director of Public Health at the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH); Dr Hamad Eid Al Romaihi, co-chair of the National Pandemic Preparedness Committee and director of Health Protection and Communicable Diseases at the MoPH; Dr Muna Al Maslamani, Medical Director of the Communicable Disease Center, HMC; and Dr. Soha Al Bayat, Head of Vaccination, MoPH.

On its Twitter page, MoPH shared video messages of some of the officials who urged those who have taken the first shot of the vaccine to get their second dose within the specified time.

Dr Sheikh Mohamed

"Today, we got the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine after 21 days exactly. We thank all the people who are working behind this and vaccinating us...we advise everyone to remember the timing of the vaccine and come at the right time.”

Dr Abdullatif al-Khal

"I received the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and encourage everyone who took the first dose to commit to taking the second dose of the vaccine. I also encourage those on the list of priorities in the first phase of vaccination to get inoculated."

Dr Muna Al Maslamani

Dr. Muna Al Maslamani, Medical Director, Communicable Disease Center, Hamad Medical Corporation receives the second dose of the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine pic.twitter.com/PfZDA5MI37

— وزارة الصحة العامة (@MOPHQatar) January 14, 2021

Dr Hamad Eid Al Romaihi.

"I got my second dose of the Covid vaccine," said Dr al-Romaihi, stressing that he was confident the vaccine was safe and effective. "I encourage everyone, in particular the high-risk groups, the elderly and patients with chronic diseases, to receive their vaccine."

Dr Soha Al Bayat

Dr. Soha Al Bayat, Head of Vaccination, Ministry of Public Health receives the second dose of the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine pic.twitter.com/QLfqPVNABq

— مؤسسة حمد الطبية (@HMC_Qatar) January 14, 2021

Qatar began administering the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from Wednesday.

The country is currently in the first phase of its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, which will run until January 31, 2021. 

During the first phase, priority will be given to: 1. People aged 65 years and above. 2. People with severe chronic conditions. 3. Healthcare workers with repeated exposure to COVID-19.

At present, those who are eligible to receive the vaccine will be contacted directly by Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) by SMS or phone call in order to fix an appointment.

All community members who do not fall under the priority groups have been asked to wait until it is their turn.

The vaccine is being administered to citizens and residents completely free of charge.

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