The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) underlined that there is clear local and international clinical evidence showing the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccines in preventing severe infection, especially with the booster dose.

People should avoid listening to rumours and false information regarding the booster dose against the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19), Dr Hamad Eid al-Rumaihi, Director of the Department of Health Protection and Communicable Disease Control at the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has said.

Covid-19 vaccine maker Moderna does not expect any problems in developing a booster shot to protect against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and could begin work in a few weeks, Chief Executive Stephane Bancel said in an interview.

The EU's drug regulator on Monday approved a fifth Covid jab as the US warned of a bleak winter with the Omicron variant spurring new waves of infections globally.

Two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine appear to have given 70% protection against hospitalisation in South Africa in recent weeks, a major real-world study on the potential impact of Omicron showed on Tuesday

Bahrain has approved the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use for children aged between 5 and 11 years, the government media office said on Tuesday.

The third dose of Covid-19 vaccine is administered only by appointment, Dr Soha al-Bayat, head of vaccination at the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), told Qatar TV Monday.

The validity of Covid-19 vaccine immunity continues to be 12 months, Hamad General Hospital's medical director Dr Yousuf al-Maslamani told Qatar TV on Monday.

The Philippines has approved Covid-19 jabs for children as young as 12, an aide to President Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday, as the country battles surging infections fuelled by the hyper-contagious Delta variant.

The United Arab Emirates will start providing China's Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine to children aged 3-17, the UAE government said on Twitter on Monday.

Cambodia will begin offering a booster shot against Covid-19, switching between the AstraZeneca and Chinese Covid-19 vaccines in an effort to fight the spread of the coronavirus in the Southeast Asian country.

AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine carries a small extra risk of rare blood clots with low platelets after the first dose and no extra risk after the second, a study led and funded by the drugmaker showed on Wednesday, after worries over side-effects.