KUALA LUMPUR – Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has issued a stern warning against letting one’s guard down after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.
In a Facebook post this morning, he revealed that health frontliners have been infected with the coronavirus even after getting the jab, but their symptoms are not severe.
Although vaccines give a glimmer of hope in the fight against Covid-19, he said, people should not make the mistake of taking public health measures lightly.
“Forty of our healthcare workers have been infected after the completion of vaccination. Nine cases were infected more than two weeks after the second dose, and 31 cases were infected less than two weeks of the second dose.”
He said 142 healthcare workers were infected after receiving the first dose.
“More importantly, all had less-severe symptoms.
“(But,) it is clear that we can still be infected after the completion of vaccination, but perhaps (experience) less (in terms of) severity.
“No one is safe until everyone is safe. Please continue to comply with all precautionary public health measures,” he said, referring to the “3Cs” and “3Ws” – avoiding crowded areas, confined spaces and close conversation, and the practice of frequently washing one’s hands, wearing a mask and other protective gear, and warning the authorities upon having symptoms.
On Wednesday, Dr Noor Hisham announced that there were 17 cases of the South African variant of Covid-19 in Malaysia.
It is said that this strain is not only more transmissible, but vaccines are less effective against it.
Dr Noor Hisham said the South African B.1.351 strain was detected in three cases in the Jalan Lima cluster in Hulu Langat and Sepang districts, Selangor; Kebun Baru cluster in Kuala Langat (9); Teknologi Emas cluster in Kuala Langat (1); and, close-contact screening (1).
As of yesterday, Malaysia recorded a cumulative 370,528 Covid-19 cases and 1,365 deaths since the pandemic began.
The country logged 2,551 fresh cases yesterday, its highest tally this year since February 24, when 3,545 infections were registered. – The Vibes, April 17, 2021
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