GEORGE TOWN – The economy can reopen much faster if the Health Ministry expedites its drive to vaccinate people aged 40 and above, said former deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye.
In an interview, Dr Lee said this rationale was based on data obtained from battling the pandemic for over 15 months.
“It is not the infection numbers that must worry us. We need to protect those who cannot fight off the infection on their own.
“Those who can fight it well have proven to be those aged 39 and below,” said Dr Lee, adding that the mortality rate for those aged 39 and below was around four in 1,000 cases.
It is low compared with those aged 40 and above. It is not just about preventing infections, but also not allowing the virus to kill as many people as before.
“If we can prevent serious complications in those who contract it, we will have made some headway,” he said.
Several doctors had told The Vibes that it may have been a flaw to vaccinate only senior citizens in the first phase of the immunisation programme.
“Such people are mostly immobile and confined to their homes or in aged care centres where they do not go out as much as working adults.
“They can’t spread it as easily as those who are working. If we had vaccinated the more mobile working class, we could have contained the outbreak better.”
To this, Dr Lee said that anyone could be exposed to the virus as it is already within the community.
“It is protecting those in the context of the high mortality rate. Therefore, the ministry made the right choice in prioritising the old first in the immunisation drive.”
Meanwhile, Senator Yusmadi Yusoff suggested that the ministry decentralise its efforts to fight the virus in terms of both medical and social aid.
He said that more government clinics in the district should be roped in to vaccinate villagers, while the army and police can also help with mobile clinics.
“We cannot be centred just on the national resources. Under the federated arrangement, we can empower all state and local resources to aid federal authorities in jabbing as many people as possible.”
As for social aid for the needy, Yusmadi suggested that authorities use places of worship such as mosques, churches, and temples to distribute aid.
“Currently, such places are underutilised in the fight against Covid-19,” he said. – The Vibes, July 6, 2021
