BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN : Nearly 400 children aged five to 11 were administered the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on Saturday (May 21), said Minister of Defence II cum Acting Minister of Health Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Awang Halbi Mohd Yussof during the daily press conference on Sunday.

The minister said 399 doses of the vaccine were administered, bringing the number of first-dose inoculations in the age group to 33,575 or a 78.2-per-cent coverage rate.

He said another 1,147 children received the second dose, bringing the total number of doses administered to 15,454 or a coverage rate of 36 per cent.

The minister said the vaccine has been proven to provide protection against adverse effects of the infection, including multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), which can complicate recovery from the virus in children.

Meanwhile, 98.3 per cent of the population have received two doses of the vaccine while 69.5 per cent have been boosted against the virus, said the minister.

Yesterday, the minister said the Sultanate recorded 191 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the national tally of confirmed cases to 146,506 cases.

Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Awang Halbi said 189 cases were detected through antigen rapid tests (ART) while two were from 287 RT-PCR laboratory tests performed over the past 24 hours.

There are no cases in Category 5 requiring intensive care treatment, while one Category 4 case is being closely monitored and receiving respiratory assistance.

He said 285 cases have recovered, bringing the number of recoveries to 144,672. There are currently 1,613 active cases, with 12 receiving treatment at hospitals and 1,601 undergoing self-isolation.

Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health Maswadi Mohsin was also present at the press event.

  - ANN