In an interview with Qatar TV, Dr. Soha Al Bayat, Ministry of Public Health's Head of Immunization Department has said that the public cannot choose the type of COVID-19 vaccine they will be administered in Qatar.

She said that the type of vaccine a person gets will be determined by what is available at the health centre allotted to them.

She mentioned that the use of vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have been approved by Qatar so far. The two vaccines are of the same level and the difference is that the second dose of Modena is given after 28 days, while it is 21 days for the Pfizer vaccine, and that the Pfizer vaccine is approved for those over 16 years old, while the Moderna vaccine is given to those over the age of 18.

Dr. Soha Al Bayat said that the reason those who were given the vaccine were infected with the Coronavirus, is because they only took the first dose and did not adhere to wearing masks and did not follow social distancing. The other case is of the people who took two doses but still contracted the virus. In this case, their body did not have sufficient immunity to provide them with protection.

There are other people who caught the infection a day or two before the date of the second dose or a day or two after taking it. It is to be noted that it takes two weeks for the immunity to reach the required level, which means it is possible for people to get infected.

She also mentioned that this does not indicate at all the ineffectiveness of vaccines but confirms the necessity of adhering to instructions and protocols at all times.

Source: Qatar Television
Cover image credit: Qatar Tribune

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