PRAGUE (Reuters) – The Czech government will offer a booster COVID-19 vaccine shot from Sept. 20 to any previously vaccinated person, Health Minister Adam Vojtech said on Monday.
The Czech Republic, a country of 10.7 million, has been one of the countries worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic as measured by deaths per population, with over 30,400 victims.
Nearly 1.68 million Czechs have contracted the virus, and many more are estimated to have caught it without being tested.
The government’s coronavirus task force said on Twitter that the boosters were strongly recommended for people over 60 but would also be available for all who had completed previous vaccinations, either by a two-dose or single-dose schemes.
The government will use Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for the boosters for those who completed a regular vaccination at least eight months earlier, Vojtech told a news conference shown live on television.
As of Monday, 5.73 million people have received at least one shot of a two-dose vaccine, mostly from Pfizer/BioNTech, and another 197,254 received the one-dose vaccine made by Johnson and Johnson.
Separately, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Czech Television the government will offer financial bonuses to general practitioners who convince more people over 65 to undergo initial vaccinations, to boost the vaccination rate among the oldest citizens.
(Reporting by Jan Lopatka)
