Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1395902
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 JULY 2021 NEWS AN anti-COVID vaccine pro- test went ahead in Valletta yes- terday morning despite objec- tions and a lack of permission from the police. Originally organised by Hu- man Health Alliance, Satur- day's protest saw some 250 people talking to Republic Street with placards shouting "No vaccine, no vaccine". When contacted, a Human Health Alliance spokesperson informed MaltaToday that they had "duly notified" the police about their intention to hold a Valletta demonstration on Saturday morning, but the police had objected. The Alliance claimed that " c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y - s p e a k i n g " there was no need for them to obtain a permit and that the organisers of a demonstration merely need to inform the po- lice of their intentions. "The police did in fact issue a prohibition, and we informed the police that HHA would be contesting this constitution- ally," HHA explained, adding, "The police insisted in writing that they were prohibiting it. So the HHA informed its mem- bers that it had to withdraw from organising the protest. But people turned up anyway as a spontaneous protest. People turned up to demon- strate on their own steam nev- ertheless in what was billed as a 'freedom rally', with the pro- testors heard chanting "no vac- cine" and "libertà, libertà". The group later headed out- side the Office of the Prime Minister on Castille Place and outside the House of Repre- sentatives. "The vaccines are only cov- ered by a conditional market- ing authorisation," Human Health Alliance legal spokes- person Rudolph Ragonesi, a convener of a previous demon- stration, told MaltaToday. "Those conditions are that the human trials must continue for two more years from the issue of the authorisation, that it can be used only for emergencies, which also means that only if there are no other treatments – many doctors have gone public saying they have successfully used other treatments. "There is no emergency use needed for children because they have next-to-zero risk. So it is actually illegal to use the conditional marketing author- isation of these experimen- tal vaccines on children, who must be the most protected in society. Never in the history of vaccines have children been subjected to an experimental vaccine before." Ragonesi said the group was objecting to being labelled as "anti-vaxxers". Ragonesi said the HHA's posi- tion has been that new COVID vaccines have been issued only with a conditional marketing authorisation by the Europe- an Medicines Agency (EMA). "Following the very same con- ditions laid down by the EMA is called prudence and stick- ing to the law pertaining to vaccination. It is not taking an anti-vaxxer stand. Howev- er this is the message that has been wrongly conveyed to your readers." Anti-vaxxers defy police in mass rally against 'experimental' COVID vaccine COVID-19: Woman, 73, dies while tested positive A 73-year-old woman has died while being COVID-19 positive in the past 24 hours, the health authorities announced on Satur- day afternoon. Over the same period, Mal- ta registered 171 new cases of COVID-19, one less than the previous day. A total 19 COV- ID-19 positive patients are be- ing treated at Mater Dei Hospi- tal, one of whom is in intensive care. There are currently 2,373 ac- tive cases of COVID-19 in Mal- ta, and 299 patients have been repatriated back to their home countries over the last day. 3,926 swab tests were per- formed on Friday, making for a total 1,065,162 swabs having been carried out over the span of the pandemic. 742,361 vaccine doses had been administered as of Friday and there are now 368,587fully vaccinated people in Malta. Since the start of the out- break, Malta has registered 33,541 total cases of COV- ID-19, of which 30,448 have re- covered. The death toll stands at 421.