KUALA LUMPUR – A molecular virologist is cautioning that vaccinating the population based on age group restrictions could have a major downside.
“Look at the Covid-19 infections in the country now. The number of infections is suddenly rising steeply. This is the outcome of vaccinating the population based on age group restrictions,” Prof Sunil Kumar Lal told The Vibes.
“This is the mistake India made by administering vaccination jabs in an ‘age-dependent step-wise release’, and is paying the price for it now.
“We must learn from the mistakes of other countries, including the United States,” Sunil, an academician with the Petaling Jaya-based Monash University, said.
He said Malaysia is “somewhat” repeating the same mistake, although the magnitude at which cases are spiking in both countries are vastly different, what with India’s larger population.
Sunil said this is based on epidemiological reasoning.
“The 60-year-olds are not the ones going into crowded places in the first place. Essentially, 1.3 billion people in India have been without vaccine protection till April 1.
“So, we are seeing the consequences of this disparity when portions of the population are vaccinated based on this ‘age group restriction’ model,” he said.
100,000 daily infections
According to India-based Scroll.in, India is undergoing the third phase of its Covid-19 vaccination roll-out, with those above 45 years old eligible for the shots.
Public and private hospitals have administered 80 million doses.
But this phase is coinciding with a second wave of Covid-19 infections in the country.
According to the news portal, three months after it began rolling out the vaccines, the country has hit a grim milestone, recording more than 100,000 fresh infections, with spikes in states like Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka, among others.
“Amid the rising cases, chief ministers of states like Maharashtra and Delhi have requested the removal of the ‘age limit for immunisation’ model amid the rising cases,” reported Scroll.in.
As to why the vaccination programme has not been opened to all, the news portal said the aim of the immunisation programme is not to administer the vaccine to those who want it but those who need it first.
“There are two aims for such vaccine drives; to prevent deaths and to protect the healthcare system,” Scroll.in reported, quoting Union Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan.
Meanwhile, Sunil said the current vaccines will be only ”partially effective” against new Covid-19 variants.
“Their effectiveness is low in protecting against Covid-19 infection and the potency of the vaccine will be further reduced.
“The new variants are constantly evolving, and we will not be able to get rid of it (Covid-19) or eradicate it for the next few years.” – The Vibes, April 18, 2021
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