The change comes as part of the phased roll-out of the National COVID-19 Vaccination Program which continues to pick up the pace and has now administered more than 1,200,000 vaccine doses to the most at risk members of Qatar’s population. 

Dr. Abdullatif Al Khal, Chair of the National Health Strategic Group on COVID-19 and Head of Infectious Diseases at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) said, “Lowering the eligibility threshold to 35 years of age will enable a wider section of our population to be vaccinated and become protected against COVID-19.

Since the start of March, we have almost doubled the number of weekly vaccines administered and in the past seven days alone we have administered over 160,000 doses, across more than 35 vaccination centers.” 

 “One in three adults in Qatar has already received at least one vaccine dose and Qatar ranks ninth in the world for total vaccine doses administered per 100 people, in countries with a population of at least one million.

This is a remarkable achievement made possible thanks to the overwhelming response of the public to the vaccination program,” he added.  

Dr. Mariam Abdulmalik, Managing Director of Primary Health Care Corporation, explained the lowering of the age threshold has been made possible thanks to the high rate of vaccination within the older, most at risk, age groups.

“We know that age is the most significant risk factor in increasing an individual’s chances of developing severe complications due to the virus. 82.6 percent of people over 60 years of age and 73 percent of people over 50 years of age have now received at least one vaccine dose, meaning the majority of the most at risk members of our population are now well on the way to becoming protected against the virus,” she stated.

Earlier, health officials said 98.4 percent of the people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in Qatar, since the beginning of the national vaccination drive until March 28.

The Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) is now administering the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine across all 27 health centers,  Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC), Lusail drive-through vaccination center, and Al Wakra drive-through vaccination center. 

Here are the working hours for the COVID-19 drive-through vaccination centers during the holy month of Ramadan.

Individuals wishing to share feedback can do so by clicking on the ‘COVID-19 Vaccination Feedback’ section on the Ministry's website.

The Ministry stressed the importance of feedback as it will allow health authorities to record and monitor any symptoms people have.

Visit our Ramadan Page for more useful information about the Holy Month!

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Source: MoPH