The Health Bureau (SSM) announced in a statement last night that from tomorrow everyone can have the maximum number of COVID-19 jabs whether they have been infected or not.

Hitherto, the Health bureau had advised that those who have recovered from COVID-19 should receive one jab less than those who have never been infected with COVID-19, by citing research findings worldwide indicating that those have been infected with COVID-19 would normally develop a level of immunity against the novel coronavirus equivalent to having received a COVID-19 jab.

Last night’s statement noted that those who have been infected with COVID-19 will normally develop immunity against the novel coronavirus, but the immunity will only remain relatively strong for a relatively short period of time. In addition, the statement also said that those who have been infected with a particular COVID-19 variant will only develop relatively weak protection against other COVID-19 variants.

Last night’s statement said that with the aim of enabling those who have recovered from COVID-19 to be protected against the novel coronavirus for a longer period of time, the Macau Health Bureau has now decided to revise its COVID-19 vaccination recommendations for those who have been infected with COVID-19 after studying the latest research findings and COVID-19 vaccination practices worldwide.

Starting from tomorrow, according to last night’s statement, those who have been infected with COVID-19 “do not need to reduce the total number of COVID-19 jabs they receive, which means that they can receive the same number of COVID-19 jabs as those who have never been infected with COVID-19”.

Both types of COVID-19 vaccines currently available in Macau, China’s Sinopharm inactivated vaccine and Germany’s BioNTech mRNA vaccine, are two-dose vaccines, i.e., requiring two jabs to develop basic full immunity.

Jabs for different age groups

Currently, the Health Bureau advises those aged 18 or over who have never been infected with COVID-19 to receive a total of four COVID-19 jabs, comprising the first two jabs that provide basic full immunity and two booster shots.

The Health Bureau currently advises those aged between 5 and 17 who have never been infected with COVID-19 to receive three BioNTech mRNA jabs, comprising the first two jabs providing basic full immunity and a booster shot. Those in this age group who choose the Sinopharm inactivated vaccine can receive the first two jabs, and if they want to receive a booster jab, they can only choose the BioNTech mRNA vaccine.

Currently, those aged between six months and four years who were given the BioNTech mRNA vaccine require three jabs, instead of two jabs, to develop basic full immunity. Those in this age group are not covered by the Health Bureau’s COVID-19 booster vaccination programme.

Those aged between three and four years who were given the Sinopharm vaccine can also receive the first two jabs that provide basic full immunity. Currently, the Sinopharm vaccine is only administered to those aged three years or over.

The new measure that will take effect tomorrow means regardless of their COVID-19 infection status, everyone should receive the same number of COVID-19 jabs depending on their respective age groups.

Moreover, last night’s statement also reminded that those who have been infected with the novel coronavirus should wait at least three months before getting a COVID-19 jab. More specifically, they should only get their jab at least three months after their last COVID-19 positive result, either in a nucleic acid test (NAT) or a rapid antigen test (RAT, aka self-test), the statement said.

COVID-19 death toll remains at 120

Meanwhile, Macau’s official COVID-19 death toll has remained unchanged at 120 as no fatalities were recorded on Sunday.

Macau has not recorded COVID-19 fatalities for four consecutive days, from Thursday last week to Sunday, after two fatalities were reported on Wednesday last week.

Meanwhile, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced in a statement yesterday that just one new patient diagnosed with the novel coronavirus disease was admitted to the Health Bureau’s isolation and treatment facilities on Sunday.

According to the Health Bureau’s COVID-19 website, which was updated yesterday, Macau’s official cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases stood at 3,486, of which 3,357 had meanwhile been cured. 

People get vaccinated against COVID-19 at Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion last month.
– Photo courtesy of TDM