Czech Republic to start administering 2nd COVID-19 booster dose

Xinhua News Agency

PRAGUE — The Czech Republic will start administering a second booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from July 18, the country’s health ministry announced on Friday, July 15.

The second booster dose will be available to all people over the age of 18, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry also recommended it especially to people aged over 60 and younger high-risk patients.

According to the statement, jab-seekers can get a second booster dose from Monday at vaccination sites without registration, if more than four months have passed since their last vaccination.

Currently, there are more than 350 active vaccination sites across the country.

The ministry added that the registration system with reservation of time slots will be operating from Aug. 15. “Until then, we recommend vaccination for risk groups, citizens over 60 and then for people without health problems.”

The ministry also recommended the use of face masks in medical and social facilities, in public transport and places with a large concentration of people.

Daily COVID-19 infections in the Czech Republic started to rise at the end of June mainly due to the more contagious Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.

On Monday, the country recorded more than 2,000 new cases for the first time since late April. COVID-19 hospitalizations also continued to rise, reaching 413 on Thursday, compared with 315 a week ago.

The health ministry said Friday that the current epidemic situation does not cause a burden on hospitals and the health system, but said it is “ready to respond promptly to any change in the situation.”

The Czech Republic has recorded more than 3.9 million COVID-19 cases and 40,346 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic. Nearly 6.9 million people in the country, which has a population of about 10.5 million, have been fully vaccinated, according to the official data. – gb

Popular

On Teachers’ Month, DepEd notes good news for teachers

By Brian Campued As the Philippines joins the global community in honoring the invaluable contributions of teachers in shaping the next generation’s leaders and professionals,...

Phivolcs identifies fault that caused magnitude 6.9 Cebu quake

By Brian Campued State seismologists have located the source of the powerful offshore earthquake that jolted northern Cebu and the rest of Visayas on Sept....

PBBM: Launch of new dairy farm to boost local milk production, supply

By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos | Philippine News Agency President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday expressed optimism that the inauguration of the Farm Fresh Milk...

PBBM leads distribution of various aid to Aeta communities in Pampanga

By Brian Campued In celebration of the National Indigenous Peoples Month this October, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. led the turnover of various forms of...