KUALA LUMPUR – Over two million Sinovac vaccine recipients in the country are set to lose their vaccination status in a week’s time after they failed to get their booster shots, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin revealed today.
He said based on the latest figures, the Health Ministry found that 2.09 million individuals who received Sinovac as their primary vaccine have not gotten their third dose.
“According to our projections, some two million Sinovac primary recipients are at risk of losing their full vaccination status on April 1,” he told a press conference in Parliament today.
Previously on December 16, Khairy had announced that full vaccination privileges will be withdrawn from Sinovac vaccine recipients, as well as those aged 60 and above, if they do not obtain a booster dose by February 28.
The decision then was made based on guidance from the World Health Organisation, after studies indicated a reduced vaccine efficacy against the Covid-19 Omicron variant.
On February 24, the minister agreed to extend the period for another month, with the deadline now falling on March 31.
Khairy today said his Singapore counterpart had informed him that the republic is also considering making it a requirement for Sinovac vaccine recipients to get a third vaccine dose to qualify for fully vaccinated access to the country.
“If you want to enjoy your trip to Singapore without quarantine, then you know what to do.”
In a joint statement earlier today, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Singapore’s Lee Hsien Loong had announced that the land border between Singapore and Malaysia will be fully reopened from April 1, with fully vaccinated travellers not required to undergo quarantine or conduct screenings upon arrival or before departure.
On a separate matter, Khairy said healthcare workers who have tested positive for Covid-19 will now be required to return to work on the sixth day onward, citing a consistently high number of absentees over the past few weeks.
According to him, yesterday alone, 19,420 staffers were not able to attend work, with 94.5% of them confirmed positive for Covid-19 and the remaining 5.5% as close contacts.
“This represents a 6.8% absenteeism rate of the overall Health Ministry workforce. And since March 4, the absenteeism rate has been consistently over 6%.
“Because of this, many hospital directors had requested that we review the policy to manage Covid-19 confirmed cases. The matter was tabled and approved in a meeting on March 15.”
Khairy said the decision to allow workers to return to work on the sixth day will not compromise patients’ safety, as they are still required to conduct tests before returning to duty, adding that they will also typically wear personal protective equipment when dealing with patients. – The Vibes, March 24, 2022
