Ministry of health - No choosing between vaccines

Kuwait began administering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for over two weeks, however, many people have held off from taking it as they await the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine, Al Rai reported.

Many people have the assumption that the Oxford vaccine is safer than the Pfizer vaccine because the former depends on the production of antibodies through the viral vector, while the later (including the Modera vaccine) adopted the RNA technology.

A health source told Al Rai that experts advise people to take the vaccine available and that they will not be allowed to choose between vaccines.

Given that the Pfizer vaccine was approved faster, most countries have begun administering while awaiting approval on other vaccines. Currently the vaccine being used in Kuwait is the Pfizer vaccine and is being administered to frontline workers, health workers, people above 65 and those with chronic illnesses. This is the first batch to arrive in Kuwait and includes 150,000 doses.

In a statement to Al-Seyassah daily, Dr Ibrahim said, “Preparations are underway to launch mobile units next February to vaccinate people with disabilities and people with special needs, which will coincide with the arrival of the first batch of the ‘AstraZeneca- Oxford’ vaccine, based on a recent statement made by the Minister of Health Sheikh Dr Basil Al-Sabah.

She also explained that the Public Health Department is working to set up a mechanism to distribute the “AstraZeneca” vaccine in the preventive health centers as part of primary health care in future, due to the ease of storing this vaccine which does not necessitate of storing this vaccine below 0 degree Celsius unlike the Pfizer vaccine, pointing at the same time that this mechanism is still under study, and the public health sector has not taken any decisions regarding it.