PUTRAJAYA – A staggering increase in Covid-19 infections among children up to 11 years old was observed last week, with a 160% increase in cases from the week before, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin revealed today.
He said the first week of February saw a total of 6,524 infections reported involving children within the age group, with numbers spiking to 16,959 last week.
“This is one development that is worrying for the Health Ministry,” he said during a press conference here.
Khairy explained that more details into the clinical status of these infected children will be released soon but conceded that the reopening of schools could have been a factor behind the spike in cases.
“For those aged 5 to 11, we believe there is a connection with schools reopening, where students going back to school will also see an increase in mobility and interactions,” he said.
Khairy however explained that infants to 5-year-olds are more vulnerable, being the only age group without an available vaccine.
“So we will have to evaluate in more detail what sort of interventions need to be done, especially for the infant to 4-years-old category.”
Khairy also explained his recent posts sharing booster dose and child vaccine uptake rates according to different races, saying the jarring differences in uptake rates was something the ministry could not choose to just ignore.
He denied making it a racial issue, but conceded that convincing the better part of the local Malay community to get their booster doses and register their children for the PICKids vaccination programme remains their biggest challenge.
“It’s not that we want to see the issue from a racial perspective, but when the difference in numbers is so significant, where one race’s booster uptake is very high, and another race’s uptake rate is very low – if we do not factor in such information, we will not be able to carry out proper interventive actions.
“What we know is there is now a reluctance to get their booster shots and send their children for the PICKids programme among the Malay community,” he said.
The minister said this revelation has led his ministry to increase efforts to conduct explainer sessions, engagements, and also to answer every query and doubt that circulates among the masses.
“This will be a big challenge. A big challenge because the Malays believe in the Illuminati,” he quipped.
Additionally, Khairy added that the nationwide booster uptake to date hovered around 58% of the adult population, with the ministry targeting at least a 70% uptake rate.
He included how continuous messaging by the ministry to encourage and educate the public on the benefits outweighing the risks of the booster dose and children vaccine shots will be ongoing. – The Vibes, February 17, 2022
