PHCC begins administering Moderna vaccine at three health centers

As Qatar continues to roll out its largest ever vaccination campaign, the country has begun using the COVID-19 vaccine it has procured from the US-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, Moderna.

On February 10, 2021, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) announced that it has approved Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in Qatar.

Its approval process followed similar authorizations of Moderna's vaccine to that of health agencies in the United States, Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland, MoPH had highlighted.

From yesterday, the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) began administering Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine in three of its health centers. These are Al Wajba, Lebaib, and Thumama.

From tomorrow, Monday, February 22, Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) will commence administering the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in three of its health centers: Al Wajba, Lebaib, and Thumama. #QNA pic.twitter.com/esrDJc3BmS

— Qatar News Agency (@QNAEnglish) February 21, 2021

Chair of the National Health Strategic Group on Covid-19 and head of Infectious Diseases at Hamad Medical Corporation, Dr Abdullatif Al Khal said, "It is very encouraging that we can now add the Moderna vaccine to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in our vaccination program."

“We were clear from the outset that we only wanted to administer for the people of Qatar safe and effective vaccines that are approved in Qatar and internationally," Dr Al Khal said.

He underlined that Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine "is very similar to the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine and people should not be concerned which vaccine they are given."

"As with Pfizer-BioNTech, studies show the Moderna vaccine is nearly 95 percent effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 infection after two doses and it has been extensively tested and found to be safe for people aged 18 years and over,” the senior public health official highlighted.

Managing director, PHCC, Dr Mariam Abdulmalik mentioned that people who are given vaccination appointments at Al Wajba, Lebaib, and Thumama health centres will be told about the vaccine they will get, Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech.

"The appointment process remains the same, with our PHCC teams continuing to directly contact people who meet the current eligibility criteria and schedule them for appointments," she said.

According to Dr Mariam, as the country will receive more quantities of the Moderna vaccine throughout next month, the number of health centers using both types of vaccines will be increased.

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Cover Image: for illustrative purposes only