Herd immunity against Covid-19 in place but precautions still needed, warns former Health DG

THE public need not be overly worried about the increase in Covid-19 cases as the country has already achieved herd immunity with more than 80% of people in the country already vaccinated.

This is according to former Health Department director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah who stressed that those infected with Covid-19 need to stay home for five days and not venture out to public spaces.

"We must accept the fact that the Covid-19 virus is all around us,"  he said in his speech at the First Year Chronological Policy Cakna Series of Covid-19: Communication and Policy Management held at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) in Shah Alam last night.

Dr Noor Hisham said handling Covid-19 infections in the country was the biggest challenge he faced during his 35 years with the Ministry of Health.

He also said there is no immediate need for a Movement Control Order (MCO) to be imposed.

He said MCOs are only suited for initial outbreak stages, not the current mitigation phase.

"We are already past the initial phase," he said, reassuring the public that widespread vaccination is a good buffer against the current surge.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad had earlier said that there has been no talk yet of reinstating the MCO. 

He said the ministry has prepared a five-point strategy to deal with the matter. 

The first goal is the early detection of Covid-19 cases and SARS-CoV-2 variants, while the second is community empowerment through the practice of TRIIS, which stands for "Test, Report, Isolate, Inform, and Seek". 

The third move would be the monitoring of health facilities, and the management and control of Covid-19 cases, especially those of high-risk groups, while the fourth target is community empowerment through effective communication. 

He said the final step would be the digitisation of the healthcare system in pandemic management through the MySejahtera application.

Dr Noor Hisham, who professionally specialises in breast and endocrine surgery, retired from the MOH in April this year as he turned 60.

He had spent more than three decades in the health civil service prior to that.

He had held the post of director-general since 2013, and previously held the deputy position from January 2008 to February 2013. He was thrust into the spotlight during the country’s fight against Covid-19.

Last year, Dr Noor Hisham chaired the World Health Organisation standing committee on health emergency prevention, preparedness and response.

It was reported earlier this week that experts expect a spike in Covid-19 cases caused by the BA2.86 or “Pirola” variant to occur within a fortnight, with the potential for the JN.1 mutated variant to also spread in Malaysia.

This latest Covid-19 situation is expected to worsen due to the presence of travellers coming from abroad, particularly from the United States and Europe.

Based on MOH statistics on its portal, there were 28,375 active Covid-19 cases in Malaysia as at December 16. Of these, 27.689 underwent home quarantine and 664 were hospitalised for treatment.

Another 22 patients were warded in the intensive care unit (ICU). Of these, 14 were required ventilation for breathing support and recovery. – The Vibes, December 22, 2023