KUALA LUMPUR – Pakatan Harapan has called for a national strategy for the roll-out of the third Covid-19 vaccine dose and booster shots.
The statement from the opposition coalition’s health committee came after the Malaysian Medical Association asserted that there has not been any proper engagement – silence, even – from state Health Departments on the matter.
“This should not be the case as lessons should have been learnt from past mistakes, including involving private GPs (general practitioners) only at the very last minute.”
It suggested that the Health Ministry engage private GPs to make them a part of the third dose and booster shot programme.
It also called on the ministry to come out with a clear timeline for the programme’s implementation nationwide, and the categories of eligible individuals.
In addition, the ministry should have “strategic efforts to educate those eligible on the importance of the additional dose, and to ensure they are not left out of this roll-out”.
Lastly, the panel urged the ministry and National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency to approve heterologous vaccination for the booster dose as soon as possible, based on real-world data.
Heterologous vaccination is the use of a vaccine brand that is different from the original received by an individual.
The committee revealed that 76,186 (55.6%) of the 137,109 new Covid-19 cases reported in Malaysia from September 28 to October 11 were fully vaccinated.
“The fully vaccinated proportion of daily Covid-19 cases increased from 51% on September 28 to 60% on October 11. Of the 23,864 Covid-19 cases in Sarawak from September 28 to October 11, 77% were fully vaccinated.
“Breakthrough cases make up more than 50% of the infections in Labuan, Kuala Lumpur, Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Putrajaya, Perlis and Penang.
“The majority of breakthrough infections were among senior citizens aged above 60, mainly due to waning immunity, immunosuppression and underlying health conditions.”
Earlier this month, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin told the Dewan Rakyat that the government has agreed to allow heterologous vaccination for the booster shot.
He said the decision was made in a meeting of the Special Committee on Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee the previous week, following recommendations from the technical subcommittee.
Last month, he announced that the government was looking to administer a third dose to individuals with a weak immune system and senior citizens with comorbidities beginning October.
This would be followed by booster shots for others who are fully inoculated and have seen the jab’s efficacy decline over time, he said.
At that time, he did not confirm whether heterologous vaccination would be allowed. – The Vibes, October 18, 2021
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