BAHRAIN leads the world in the number of Covid-19 booster shots administered per 100 people, it has emerged.
According to the scientific online publication ‘Our World in Data’, the distribution rate of the third vaccine jab in the kingdom is 46.82 as of Monday.
Second on the list is Israel (45.29), followed by the UAE (34.6), South Korea (31.09), and Mongolia (26.94), in that order.
Kuwait (8.8) is ranked 12th, Saudi Arabia (5.32) 16th, and Oman (0.62) is 22nd.
According to Our World in Data, the rate is the “total number of vaccine booster doses administered, divided by the total population of the country.”
National Taskforce for Combating Covid-19 monitoring committee head Dr Manaf Al Qahtani took to Twitter, describing the milestone as a major ‘pre-emptive measure’ adopted by Bahrain to fight Covid-19.
Bahrain is leading the the world in the number of Covid-19 booster doses administered per 100 people
“Our Bahrain is leading the world in taking preventive measures against Covid-19, to protect us,” said the BDF Hospital microbiologist.
The country’s success in combating the coronavirus has been attributed to its TTT policy – Trace, Test, and Treat strategy that tracks infected people and their contacts, thereby aiding in curbing the spread of the virus.
The taskforce has repeatedly emphasised the importance of booster doses for Covid-19 - those that go above and beyond the original vaccination protocol - with studies confirming their efficacy in increasing the body’s immunity against the virus.
Booster shots, according to experts, produce virus-fighting antibodies capable of combating the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.
The GDN yesterday reported local data released by the taskforce proving the effectiveness of booster jabs in increasing immunity and decreasing complications associated with Covid-19 that may require treatment or intensive care, or even result in death.
According to the data, more than 80 per cent of the cases that needed treatment between September and December 2021 did not receive a booster shot (198 out of 242 Covid-19 cases). Six people who died during this time also had not received a booster.
As of Monday, Bahrain has administered booster doses to 818,523 people, or approximately 55pc of its estimated 1.5 million population.
The country provides four free vaccines – Sinopharm, Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca-Oxford and Sputnik V – as well as booster shots to citizens and residents. Bahrain also recently approved a second booster shot for people over the age of 18 who have already received three doses of the Sinopharm vaccine; they can choose between Sinopharm and Pfizer-BioNTech.
As of Monday, 1,201,092 citizens and residents have received one shot, accounting for nearly 80pc of the population, while 1,175,465 have been double-jabbed, accounting for around 78pc.
This means the country would need to vaccinate an additional 25,000 people in order to achieve herd immunity, which would cover approximately 80-90pc of the population.
The World Health Organisation acclaimed Bahrain’s successful Covid-19 experience last week, with its Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office director Dr Ahmed Al Mandhari praising the country for handling the crisis ‘ably and aptly’.
Meanwhile, globally 1.44 million confirmed cases were reported yesterday - for the first time during the pandemic.
raji@gdn.com.bh
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