Macau’s COVID-19 vaccination rate reached 69.5 percent yesterday – i.e., nearly 70 percent of the population had received at least one jab, according to the latest official statistics.
According to the website of the Health Bureau’s (SSM) COVID-19 vaccination programme, as of 4 p.m. yesterday, 859,791 doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered to 474,462 people in Macau, comprising 82,591 who had only received their first jab, 390,304 who had received their second jab, and 1,567 who had received their third jab.
Macau started administering COVID-19 vaccine booster jabs on Tuesday last week to those who were fully inoculated against the novel coronavirus at least six months ago.
In Macau, those who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 refers to those who have received the last required shot of a novel coronavirus vaccine at least 14 days prior.
Except immunocompromised individuals (such as cancer patients who are receiving radiotherapy, those who have had an organ transplant, and those with HIV/AIDS), all other eligible vaccinees will receive a third COVID-19 vaccine dose as their booster jabs. People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised will be first given a third primary dose at least 28 days after having their second COVID-19 jab, before receiving a fourth dose as their booster shots at least six months afterwards.
The official COVID-19 vaccination rate of 69.5 percent as of yesterday was calculated based on Macau’s population of 683,100 at the end of last year.
According to the latest available demographics, Macau’s population stood at 682,300 at the end of September.
The Health Bureau said last month that the city’s COVID-19 inoculation rate of the target group – i.e., those aged 12 or over – is calculated based on Macau’s population aged 12 or over which stood at 607,000 at the end of last year.
According to yesterday’s statistics by the Health Bureau about COVID-19 vaccinations, Macau’s COVID-19 inoculation rate of the target group had reached 78.2 percent as of 4 p.m. yesterday.
Single-dose vaccine recognised in Macau
Meanwhile, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre has reminded employers in the private sector that employees who have received one jab of a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine are officially regarded by the local authorities as having been fully inoculated against the novel coronavirus.
The centre said in a statement on Thursday said that its hotline had recently received enquiries from many residents who have been inoculated with a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, who said that their respective companies did not recognise their COVID-19 vaccination record and consequently required them to be tested for the novel coronavirus regularly.
The Health Bureau (SSM) published new guidelines on September 13 on COVID-19 vaccinations and nucleic acid testing (NAT), according to which almost the entire working population in the city, regardless of whether working in the public or the private sectors, have to be tested for COVID-19 once every week, or even more frequently, if they have not been inoculated against the novel coronavirus.
Jab-or-test
All the respective public or private entities have to draw up their own specific rules that enable them to implement the jab-or-test measure that is required by the “principled” guidelines published by the Health Bureau on September 13.
The jab-or-test measure already started for public servants, those working in social service facilities, and the education sector last month. Certain major companies and organisations in the private sector have reportedly also already started the jab-or-test measure for their staff – i.e., they must either display a COVID-19 vaccination record, or present an NAT certificate confirming a negative COVID-19 result, usually valid for seven days.
Both types of COVID-19 vaccines currently available in Macau, China’s Sinopharm inactivated vaccine and Germany’s BioNTech mRNA vaccine, require two jabs for people to develop immunity – i.e., both are two-dose vaccines.
Single-dose, 2-dose, 3-dose vaccines
Thursday’s statement pointed out that China’s CanSinoBIO, and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine, are both single-dose COVID-19 vaccines, meaning that those who have received one jab of either of the two vaccines at least 14 days prior are regarded in Macau as having been fully inoculated against the novel coronavirus. The statement said that employees in Macau who have been fully inoculated with either of the CanSinoBIO vaccine or the Janssen vaccine can display their COVID-19 vaccination record in a paper certificate or their Macau Health Code.
Some people in Macau have been vaccinated against COVID-19 elsewhere instead of in Macau. In general, their COVID-19 vaccination records are officially recognised in Macau.
The statement also noted that many of the COVID-19 vaccines that are being used worldwide are two-dose vaccines, meaning that those who have received their second jab at least 14 days prior are regarded as having been fully inoculated against COVID-19 (aka basic full immunity).
In addition to the Sinopharm vaccine and the BioNTech vaccine – the two types of COVID-19 vaccines currently available in Macau, the statement said, two-dose COVID-19 vaccines that are being used worldwide also include China’s Sinovac inactivated vaccine, mRNA vaccine developed by American Moderna, and AstraZeneca-Oxford adenovirus vector vaccine.
The statement also pointed out that the Zifivax COVID-19 vaccine produced by Chinese biopharmaceutical company Anhui Zhifei Longcom is a three-dose vaccine, meaning that those who have been inoculated with the Zifivax vaccine can only be regarded in Macau as having been fully inoculated against the novel coronavirus at least 14 days after receiving their third dose.
