People who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 outside Qatar can get the booster dose in the country, a senior public health official has highlighted.

Dr Soha Al Bayat, Head of Vaccination at Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) mentioned this during an interview with Qatar Television on Monday.

“For example, those who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine outside Qatar will be given the booster dose of one of the two vaccines (in Qatar), Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna. And there is no danger as there are countries that mix two vaccines to inoculate their residents without risk,” she said.

MoPH recently reduced the gap between the second dose and booster shot from 8 months to 6 months for eligible people.

Dr Al Bayat confirmed that no serious complications have been recorded in Qatar since the country began administering the COVID-19 booster shots.

Talking about the advantages for those who received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and if these would be impacted in the future, Dr Al Bayat said, “While granting privileges to those vaccinated with both doses, the period prescribed was 12 months. However, if studies prove that there is almost no immunity after 12 months of the second dose, these relaxations may change.”

The official further emphasized the need for all eligible people to get the COVID-19 booster shot without delay.

In terms of traveling and getting the booster dose, the official said, it is recommended to take the third dose before traveling, “the goal is to preserve and protect the people, especially since many countries in the world, especially Europe, are going through a fifth wave of the pandemic.”

However, those who travel without it and return to Qatar will have to undergo the same procedures of quarantine, examinations, etc, depending on the country they have traveled from.

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Source: Gulf Times