Severe Covid-19 cases will drop when 40% immunised: health DG

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia will see a drastic reduction of severe Covid-19 cases in the next few months after 40% of the population is immunised, said Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said in a press conference today that based on data gathered from developed countries, the need for hospitalisation or intensive care in Malaysia will decrease in the next one or two months if the current rate of 450,000 vaccinations is maintained.

He added that the country had seen improvements in the span of three months in places such as the UK that began vaccinating its population in December, while others started in January.

“We started ours in March although the campaign was launched on February 24, and have also seen that in the three months of developments in developed countries, we have seen that after vaccinations reached 40% (of the population), the cases will reduce.

“We are confident that we can implement this with the condition that we raise our vaccinations (efforts).”

He said currently in the Klang Valley, at least 15.2% of the population has been vaccinated.

Dr Noor Hisham said this during a special press conference this evening, following the country’s record-high daily tally of more than 11,000 fresh Covid-19 cases today.

He attributed the rise in cases to the Delta variant of Covid-19, as well as the increase in targeted screenings, especially in the Klang Valley.

The country reached a record high of 421,429 vaccinations yesterday, of which 264,034 were the first dose, and 157,445 others the second dose, according to Bernama.

Explaining the reduction in hospitalisations, Dr Noor Hisham referred to the 2,779 healthcare workers, saying they were infected over the last few months but showed little or no symptoms as they were vaccinated.

“A majority of them were categories one and two. They don’t need admission to hospitals and can just self-isolate at home.

“If the population can be vaccinated (fast), even though they are infected, they will not need to be admitted to a hospital or ICU, so that is our strategy.”

He said after Phase Two of the country’s vaccination programme began, the number of elderly patients aged between 60 and 70 who were admitted to hospitals has decreased, while those in unvaccinated red zones showed higher admissions.

“What we need to do now is increase the number of vaccinations, especially in the Klang Valley.

Dr Noor Hisham said the UK reported one death out of every 50 people infected, but that was reduced to one death per 1,000 infections several months after they began vaccinating the public.

“The vaccination now is to decrease the admissions to hospitals and to ICU wards. This is very important so that we can live side-by-side with the virus.

“If we can maintain or raise the vaccination rate in a short period, we can reach 40% of the population and even if it is halfway to 80% (herd immunity), we will see the impact.” – The Vibes, July 13, 2021