SEREMBAN – Khairy Jamaluddin, the coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, today expressed concern over the detection of 17 cases in the country involving the South African B.1.351 variant of the coronavirus.
Some vaccines will not be effective against this strain once it spreads, he said, and the rate of infections will rise.
“My greatest worry is the virus variant. Yesterday, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah announced that there are already 17 cases of the South African variant in Malaysia, and we know that this particular variant is not only more transmissible, but vaccines are less effective against it.
“If we fail to observe the standard operating procedures, the fourth wave will be worse than the third,” he told a press conference after visiting the vaccination centre at the Seremban City Council Hall here today.
Dr Noor Hisham reported that the South African B.1.351 strain was detected in three cases in the Jalan Lima cluster in Hulu Langat and Sepang districts, Selangor; Kebun Baru cluster in Kuala Langat (9); Teknologi Emas cluster in Kuala Langat (1); and, close-contact screening (1). – Bernama, April 15, 2021
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