'Privileges for Covid recovered based on scientific findings'

Those recovered from Covid-19 are given the same privileges of the vaccinated individuals based on the latest scientific findings that the former can have antibodies for nine months, giving them protection, Dr Yousef al-Maslamani, medical director of Hamad General Hospital, told Qatar TV on Monday.

Regarding the possibility of extending the validity of the Covid-19 vaccine protection for more than nine months, he said it is most likely to happen but still needs additional confirmation and information from the manufacturers, which is to be reviewed and followed up by the scientific committee in Qatar.

"In turn, the scientific committee would advise the strategic committee concerned to take the suitable decision of whether to extend the period beyond nine months," he explained.

Dr al-Maslamani also said there has been a recent agreement among the GCC Ministers of Public Health regarding co-operation on approval of smartphone applications similar to Qatar's Ehteraz within each other's country. Work is progressing on the related technical aspects and once the process is complete, a decision in this regard would be issued.

Regarding Covid-19 vaccines, the official said there is no addition to the list of the six approved earlier. As for the possible allergic and hypersensitivity reactions to the vaccines, Dr al-Maslamani explained that each manufacturer encourages reporting of any and studies them carefully to figure out if they are related to the vaccine or not.

"The same process is going on in Qatar with any recorded allergic reaction reported to the vaccine maker to confirm whether it is related to the vaccine or not. However, nothing serious have been reported or proven yet," he added.



 

As seen on GulfTimes  Image Credits GulfTimes