Those vaccinated against COVID-19 are 29 times less likely to be hospitalized in comparison to those who are not vaccinated, a senior public health official has said.

Director of Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Communicable Disease Center, Dr Muna Al Maslamani, who was citing a US study, also told Qatar TV that unvaccinated people are about five times more likely to be infected with COVID-19 than those vaccinated.

الدكتورة / منى المسلماني، المدير الطبي لمركز الأمراض الانتقالية في مؤسسة حمد الطبية : الأشخاص المحصنون أقل عرضة من دخول المستشفى ب ٢٩ مرة مقارنة بالأشخاص غير المحصنين

برنامج #حياتنا #تلفزيون_قطر pic.twitter.com/51eSTt5IPA

— تلفزيون قطر (@QatarTelevision) September 6, 2021

Published in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ‘Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report,’ the study compiled data from Los Angeles County, California, between May 1 and July 25 this year.

The findings of the study show the effectiveness of the vaccines against the new COVID-19 variants.

Referring to the Delta variant, Dr Al Maslamani said recent studies in the US have shown that while the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines may reduce in time, the vaccines still guard against severe symptoms of COVID-19 and prevent hospitalization.

During the interview, Dr Al Maslamani also emphasized the importance of the flu vaccine, available for free in Qatar.

The country launched its National Flu Vaccination Campaign last week. This year’s campaign has been launched earlier than usual as health authorities take a proactive approach to ensure the wellbeing of the population.

Health experts have been stressing the difference between the flu and COVID-19 vaccines, saying that these two are different vaccines and serve different purposes.

Influenza and COVID-19 are both contagious respiratory illnesses and lead to similar symptoms, but they are caused by different viruses, Chair of the National Health Strategic Group on COVID-19 and Head of the Infectious Diseases Division at HMC Dr. Abdullatif Al Khal had stated at the launch of the flu vaccination campaign.

It is essential that people understand that the flu vaccine does not protect you from COVID-19 and the COVID-19 vaccine does not protect you from flu.

“For this reason, we strongly urge people to receive both vaccines. People can receive the flu and COVID-19 vaccines at the same time, or within a short period of time before or after each other. Clinical studies have shown that this is safe, and does not affect the efficacy of either vaccine," Dr Al Khal had underlined.

The flu vaccine is available at 28 primary healthcare centers and more than 40 private and semi-government clinics. For more information, visit the campaign website.

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Source: Gulf Times