COVID-19 victim who died in India asked to be vaccinated before trip

Ivan Barbara, a Maltese man who contracted COVID-19 and died while in India to adopt a baby girl, had asked health authorities for a vaccine before the trip but was rejected, Health Minister Chris Fearne confirmed on Friday. Barbara had gone to authorities asking to be vaccinated ahead of his visit but was told that he could not as he was not in the right cohort and, therefore, ineligible at the time, Fearne said during an interview with Newsbook. The minister emphasised the importance of sticking to the vaccination schedule without exception to maintain integrity in the system. “This system is in place because people cannot make the rules up for themselves,” Fearne said. “If people say ‘Okay, I’m going to India or Egypt or Peru tomorrow and I haven’t had the vaccine, let me just ask for it’ then we’re going to have a situation where everyone is going to find a very good reason. There will be no transparency and things won’t be proceeding in the order they should be.” He suggested that those seeking to travel but have yet to be vaccinated should look into scheduling their trips around vaccine appointments. “I think people can think about it, if they’re going to be vaccinated...