The country surpassed 1 million Covid-19 doses last week.

Qatar has ranked ninth worldwide for the rate of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered per person, according to recent statistics.

The ranking accounts for the total number of vaccination doses administered per 100 people in the total population. It specifically looks at single doses, not the total number of people that have been fully vaccinated, according to Our World In Data.

In the Gulf region, Qatar ranks third with 40.24 per 100, coming in shortly after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, with 93.8 and 59.28 respectively.

During a meeting with the Cabinet last Wednesday, Qatar’s health minister made note of recent progress made in the nationwide inoculation programme, among which is the country’s expansion and acceleration of the campaign.

More than 27% of the country’s total population have received at least the first dose of the vaccine, and around 15% have received both doses successfully, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, over 81% of people above the age of 60 have now received at least one vaccine dose since December.

Read also: Moderna, Pfizer testing ‘tweaked’ vaccine to tackle deadlier variants

“Reaching this milestone of four out of five people over 60 years of age – the most vulnerable members of our population – being vaccinated against Covid-19 is hugely encouraging,” said Dr Hanadi al-Hamad, National Health Strategy 2018-2022 lead for Healthy Ageing.

“After an incredibly challenging year for people here in Qatar, and indeed around the world, the rollout of the vaccination programme is enabling people to become protected from Covid-19 and significantly reduce their risk of sickness.”

Despite the virus being transmissible to any age, older people are much more vulnerable to severe complications from the disease, the health official added, making the vaccine highly important to ensure their well-being and safety.

Older people are also more likely to require hospitalisation, including admission to intensive care units for life-saving treatment.

“The good news is that the vaccines are highly effective at preventing severe sickness. Clinical trials have found that both the Pfizer and BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are around 95% effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19 infection after two doses,” Dr al-Hamad added.

Read also: Long Covid patients report ‘instant recovery’ after vaccination

“Our own data here in Qatar shows that within the over-60s age group, non-vaccinated people are 40 times more likely to be admitted to ICU than those who are fully vaccinated.”

The official urged all those eligible for the vaccine to make an appointment as soon as possible to receive their first dose.

Hamad Medical Corporation’s Home Healthcare Service is also vaccinating housebound patients from their homes.

Patients are encouraged to call the call centre on 4439 0111 for any assistance regarding the vaccination.

Follow Doha News on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube