KUALA LUMPUR – It is too early to say whether Covid-19 vaccination will serve as the basis for an 'immunity passport' before one can start moving around freely, said Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
He said the government still needs to look closely into the outcome of the vaccines and their efficacy and safety before it can make any decision on the matter.
“Vaccination gives everyone hope, but it is too early for the government to make any decision on whether vaccination will be our ‘immunity passport’ to travel around the world.
“Let us get vaccination going and have it evaluated from time to time,” he said in his pre-recorded speech for the “Forward Malaysia: Charting New Paths to the Next Normal” webinar by Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia held via Zoom today.
He said this in his reply to a question on the immunity passport from Datuk Seri Dr Paras Doshi, a consultant physician of acute medicine and president of the Malaysian Advanced Acute Internal Medicine and Ultrasound Society, who was one of the speakers.
The question was forwarded to Dr Noor Hisham earlier as he was unable to participate in the webinar today.
Dr Noor Hisham said that for a start, the government might look into the possibility of easing Covid-19 restrictions, such as the quarantine requirement, only if the vaccination programme actually does well.
However, he said that at the same time, the government needs to be sure whether a booster is needed and whether immune responses will continue after one or two years once vaccinated.
“We need to look at the data...at least eight months or a year to a maximum of two years to show the efficacy and safety of the vaccine.
“I think there are a lot of questions unanswered at the moment but we hope for the best...but most importantly in this period of time, you still need to comply with all the standard operating procedures although you have been vaccinated,” he added.
He added that if internal and external protections go hand-in-hand, the Health Ministry might actually look into the immunity passport again, by discussing with its international counterparts as well as with the World Health Organisation.
“On whether we can return to our normal lives as before the pandemic – we hope so, but it leaves to be seen until we have looked into the success of the vaccination programme and whether it can give us immunity passports.
“We need time for us to adapt to this new environment. We are certainly living in a very tough and challenging time, but it is important that we adapt to this new environment we have. Until then, we cannot return to our normal lives,” he said. – Bernama, February 27, 2021
