Though the health situation in the country is reassuring, the Ministry of Health (MoH) is urging all eligible citizens and residents to get vaccinated with a third booster dose, provided six months have lapsed since the second dose was administered.
Increasing rate of infections in many countries from the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and the speed at which it is spreading through communities, has placed health authorities around the world on high alert. The situation is no different in Kuwait, where despite administering two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech to nearly 80 percent of the eligible population, the authorities remain wary and are requesting people to get vaccinated with a third booster dose as an additional precaution.
The Cabinet during its exceptional meeting held at the Seif Palace on 20 December, under the chairmanship of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, decided to revive several health guidelines that had been relaxed in recent months due to improvements in the epidemiological situation, and to insist on people who had received the two doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine nine months ago to take a third booster dose from 2 January.
Other health requirements that the Cabinet decided to revive include:
All incoming passengers must carry out a negative PCR test 48 hours ahead of arrival beginning immediately. Incoming passengers are also mandated to enter a 10-day home quarantine on arrival from 26 December. However, the quarantine can be rescinded provided a negative PCR test, carried out at least 72 hours following arrival, proves negative. The cabinet advised people not to travel unless necessary and to follow all health guidelines and precautions.
The Cabinet decisions were announced by Minister of Health Sheikh Dr. Bassel Al-Humoud Al-Sabah who is currently also Acting Foreign Minister and Acting Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs. Earlier, the health minister had made a detailed presentation to the Cabinet on the prevailing epidemiological situation in the country. The minister also briefed his cabinet colleagues on the ongoing efforts and precautionary measures being implemented to control the new variant and maintain the health situation in the country.
Recently the Minister of Health, Sheikh Dr. Basil Al-Sabah, while speaking on the sidelines of the opening of the Funaitees Health Center, had asserted “the vaccination rate in Kuwait is excellent,” and discounted the chances for the new variant to cause an excessive increase in infections as was the case “before the vaccines were administered to the public”.
In this regard, the head of the Supreme Advisory Committee to confront Corona, Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah, stressed “the continuation of the stability of the epidemiological scene in the coming days is dependent on raising the rate of booster doses and adhering to preventive measures.”
He said: “There is no point in issuing controversies and disagreement, as everyone is invited to support the efforts of the state and its health system to enhance community immunization and the state of recovery.” The health sources emphasized on a number of measures to prevent a rise in infections and maintain positive indicators of the epidemiological situation, the most important of which is for people to continue adhering to health protocols and practices, such as wearing of masks, avoiding closed places and crowding at public events.
Other measures include continuing the awareness campaign to push everyone to take the third booster dose six months after taking the second dose, at the Kuwait Fairgrounds in Mishref without an appointment, or with appointment at any of the 18 vaccination centers opened by MoH.
The health ministry officials are also planning to expand the vaccine campaign for the third booster dose by once again reactivating field visits by vaccinators to companies and commercial complexes, with the aim of raising the percentage of people vaccinated with the booster dose.
The authorities are also said to be considering making the third dose a condition for travel, as well as tightening the control over travel, by continuing to oblige citizens to receive at least two doses to travel outside the country, and to stress on the airlines to apply the vaccine requirements and insist on negative PCR tests and strict examination for inbound passengers.
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