‘This is not a race between countries,’ says Mater Dei COO as Malta tops vaccine booster table

Steve Agius, COO of Mater Dei Hospital and National Vaccination Programme Coordinator, has insisted that the fight against COVID-19 is not a race between countries, but a race to end the pandemic.

Mr Agius highlighted a graph on the website ‘Our World In Data’ that showed Malta as the top country in Europe when it came to COVID-19 vaccine boosters administered per 100 people.

“In view of the Omicron surge, vaccination remains a key strategy. Malta has administered more than 273,000 COVID booster jabs, and the boosters programme is expected to continue in the coming days,” he wrote.

Mr Agius also claimed Malta has been the first country to address vaccine inequality by donating vaccines to Libya, Ghana and Iran in a bid to end the pandemic and get the global economy back on track.

Prior to working at Mater Dei, Mr Agius worked as Chief Information and Development with the Malta Communications Authority, where he coordinated a number of national initiatives aimed at supporting social cohesion and inclusion.