Albania is currently discussing whether to roll over the inoculation of teens, meaning from 16 and older, as well as children older than 12 with underlying conditions.

Health minister Ogerta Manastirliu declared that the Experts Committee on Vaccines discussed in a recent meeting including a booster dose in the protocol.

“The Experts Committee on Vaccines has recommended a booster dose, expand the vaccination to citizens older than 16, as well as children older than 12 suffering from underlying conditions. These recommendations will be discussed tomorrow during the meeting of the Technical Committee of Experts”, declared Manastirliu.

A decision is set to be announced on Friday.

Asked about the inoculation of students, Manastirliu said that universities bear the responsibility to organize and control whether students have gotten the jab.

“Together, I believe we have the responsibility to raise the awareness for students. I am confident that the number of students vaccinated will increase”, she added.

A study from the New England Journal of Medicine conducted in Israel pointed out that Pfizer is significantly more efficient in preventing youth from getting infected, after analyzing around 94,354 people from the age of 12 to 18 that had been injected the vaccine, compared to the same number of unvaccinated teens.

The Albanian government is expecting another batch of 500,000 Pfizer doses, estimated to cost around $6 million, set to be delivered within this year, according to the health ministry.