Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1313317
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 NOVEMBER 2020 INTERVIEW Bars and social clubs were shut a month ago and yet the num- ber of new COVID-19 cases has not dropped dramatically. Bar owners justly feel that they have been made sacrificial lambs. What do you tell these people? I disagree. The pandemic had an impact on everyone in soci- ety. The worst off were those who ended up in hospital and those who died and their rela- tives… our elderly, some of who have spent weeks and months inside their homes were af- fected badly. It also hurt many commercial sectors, especially those dependent on tourism and now the leisure industry – bars, night clubs and social clubs. The numbers show that the measures we adopted were a success. In September, we were seeing the number of cas- es increasing on a weekly basis but now we have been seeing stable numbers for the past few weeks… we have an average of new cases per day of between 120 and 130, and that is how it stayed. The cases have not decreased and are not decreas- ing and that is why the existing measures, which are working, have to be kept in place. When we introduced the legal notice forcing bars and social clubs to close we did so until the end of November but un- fortunately, we have had to ex- tend it to the end of December. Christmas is coming and you, Charmaine Gauci and other health professionals have been asking people not to meet at each other's houses and avoid parties. The reality is that many families will meet for Christmas lunch at each other's house. Rather than simply warning people not to congregate, isn't it better if you give them advice on how best to organise the family lunch in a safe way? The truth is that the safest thing to do is maintain social distance in an absolute manner with everyone staying at home by having a lockdown. We did not do that, have no plan to do it and we do not want to be in a position where it becomes necessary. We have limited the number of people who can gather in public to six… What is relevant for the public sphere also applies to our households. The virus makes no distinction between meeting people out- side or inside. The difference is that in public we can enforce the limit through a law but in private we cannot and do not want to. We are appealing to people's responsibility. Everyone is waiting for the COVID-19 vaccine. The studies are still ongoing and none of the companies have finalised them. When you tell people that we have to wait for a few more weeks, aren't you being optimistic? Science can have setbacks. We say this because we are seeing the results of scientif- ic work… we have agreements with six companies that are in the most advanced stages of producing the vaccine… From Pfizer, which is the company that appears to be closest to developing the vaccine first, we have half-a-million doses ordered… we have a similar agreement with AstraZeneca… Malta will be receiving its share with the first countries, which- ever of these six companies produces the vaccine first. Pfizer is so close [to produc- ing the vaccine] that in the last days of December, the Europe- an Medicines Agency will be evaluating the last submissions by the company. After all the trials they did, Pfizer feel com- fortable enough to seek final authorisation from the EMA. If market authorisation is given, the vaccine will start being dis- tributed at the start of the year and it will arrive in Malta with- in a few days. Some countries are announcing when they will start vaccinating people. I'm not sure whether this is just guesswork. When can Malta expect to receive the vaccine if Pfizer receive author- isation at the end of December? With Pfizer, we not only have vaccine orders but also logisti- cal arrangements on how it will reach Malta. Pfizer are pro- ducing a vaccine that has to be kept at cold temperatures and so cannot arrive by airfreight and will have to be transport- ed overland. When the vac- cine is approved, and released, the first trucks will depart to Malta. The overland journey will take between four and five days, which means that with- in a week the vaccine will be here and we can start vaccinat- ing people. We have the cold stores ready to store the vac- cine. We know from where we will distribute it and who shall start receiving it first. Science and the crystal ball: Kurt Sansone ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne says that if everything goes as planned the first COVID-19 vaccine could reach Malta in January. He also predicts Labour winning the election with same lead over the Nationalists