The Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) is now administering the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine across all 27 health centers, as well as at Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC), with teams from the HMC administering the vaccine in Lusail City and Al Wakra Drive-Through Vaccination Centers.

The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) issued emergency use authorization, back in February, of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine, the second Covid-19 vaccine to be approved for use in Qatar by the MOPH.

Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine was approved after the MOPH’s Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Control carried out an extensive review of the vaccine and assessed the results of clinical studies conducted on tens of thousands of volunteers. This approval, by the MOPH, follows similar authorization of Moderna’s vaccine by health agencies in the United States, Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

Dr. Samya Abdulla, Executive Director of Operations at Primary Health Care Corporation said: “The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have shown equivalent degrees of efficacy, both vaccines showed the efficacy of 95% at preventing symptomatic Covid infection after two doses. The most common side effects recorded are injection site pain, fatigue, headache, and muscle pain, with very few people reporting a fever. With the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, side effects are more common after the second dose.

These side effects are a sign of the immune system kicking in. They do not signal that the vaccine is unsafe. To date, there are no serious, long-term side effects associated with receipt of these vaccines, which will be closely monitored as their use expands.”

Currently, the Pfizer vaccine can be given to people aged 16 years and older while Moderna’s is for use in those 18 and older. The availability of Moderna vaccines, along with the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccines, has enabled the expansion of the vaccination program in Qatar and, as both types of vaccines are suitable for all priority groups, those receiving vaccines are not offered a preference.

The appointment process remains the same - with PHCC teams continuing to make direct contact with people who meet the current eligibility criteria and schedule them for appointments.

You may register your interest in receiving the Covid-19 vaccine via the MOPH website, and you will then be contacted when it’s your turn to have the vaccine.

Source: press release

Cover image: Shutterstock

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