Qatar may use J&J vaccine

Dr Abdullatif al-Khal, Chair of the National Health Strategic Group on Covid-19 and Head of Infectious Diseases at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), yesterday said Qatar is moving in the right direction in combating Covid-19.While attending Qatar TV’s Hayatna programme, al-Khal said all indications since the start of the second phase of the gradual lifting of restrictions to combat Covid-19 indicate that we are moving in the right direction.He added that there is a plan to add the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the list of vaccines provided to citizens and residents of Qatar. “A limited amount of AstraZeneca vaccine was recently provided and used and more will be brought in,” he said.“The number of infections has decreased to less than 100 people per day and the number of cases that need hospitalisation and intensive care has decreased. And for every 100 examinations that are performed per day, the positive rate is less than 1%,” he said, adding that we have not completely overcome the wave and have not won the battle. “The virus is still present. Many countries in the region and the world are suffering from a third and fourth wave. We must be careful and not rush,” he said .He explained that if the indicators remain low in the upcoming stage, it will help the country move to the fourth stage. “We will reach the stage of avoiding masks,” he said. Dr al-Khal explained that the national vaccination programme is progressing at a rapid pace as the number of people who have received two doses of the vaccine has reached more than 1.5mn. “In September, the majority of the eligible population of Qatar will have received both doses of the vaccine,” he said.