KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysians are not being used as “guinea pigs” as the Covid-19 vaccine has been administered to 30 million people globally and proven safe, said National Cancer Society managing director Dr M. Murallitharan.
He said any production of drugs or vaccines will also have to go through multiple phases of trials to ensure they are safe for use, adding that the Covid-19 shot could be produced in such a short time partly because technology to create vaccines already exists.
Citing an example, he said people have been getting the flu jab, which was developed using the same technology, and no one has developed any terrible side effect over the years.
“Also, one clear indication is how many people have taken the Covid-19 vaccine. As of about a week ago, more than 30 million people globally have received doses of the three big coronavirus vaccine brands (Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Moderna), and this is amazing.
“We can see the data, and in terms of the huge group, we see very little side effects. We don’t see any kind of signal that shows any kind of danger.
“In case you are worried, 30 million people have shown that this vaccine is safe for use.”
On the importance of achieving herd immunity, Dr Murallitharan said it is to ensure the virus will not easily spread in the community.
“When one person has (contracted) Covid-19, they walk around and spread it to other people, but a person who is already vaccinated will not get the virus.
“When they do not get the virus, they are unable to pass it on. So, even if we have a small number of people who continue to have Covid-19, they will not be able to spread the virus to others.”
He also advised the people not to be choosy about the vaccine as because whatever is approved by the authorities will have been validated by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency for its safety and effectiveness.
Malaysia has now joined the global community in a more intense fight against the coronavirus with the arrival of its first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine yesterday, to be rolled out for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme. – Bernama, February 22, 2021
