Dr Ivan Muscat has urged any eligible Islanders who have not yet had their jabs ‘to get vaccinated as soon as possible’, adding that Jersey’s vaccination team had been preparing for a booster programme, which could begin in mid-September, ‘for a while’. But he added that the government was waiting for details from the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation about the shape the programme would take.
He said: ‘We have always followed the JCVI’s guidance, as they have access to the latest research and utilise their broad expertise before finalising their decisions. We anticipate the details to be confirmed by mid-September.’
A quarter of 16- and 17-year-olds have come forward for a first dose in the two weeks since they have been eligible, while recent vaccination statistics also show that 81% of adult Islanders are now fully vaccinated against Covid.
Dr Muscat said that the programme had been ‘very successful’, adding: ‘Cases acquired on Island are falling and, very importantly, our hospitalisation numbers remain low. This is testament to the benefit of vaccination at both individual and community levels.’
At a recent Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel hearing, Dr Muscat revealed that there had been 51 hospital admissions since the onset of the Island’s third wave at the end of June, with 34 of those patients admitted due to Covid and the rest found to have the virus after undergoing routine screening. The approximate age range for admissions was 50 to 92.
Vaccination reduced admission ‘tenfold at least’, according to Dr Muscat, who said the positivity rate for those who were vaccinated was 0.03% compared to 0.4% for non-vaccinated admissions.
