KUALA TERENGGANU – The number of health personnel reported to have been infected with Covid-19 after completing their vaccination regime under the immunisation programme is 10 times lower than the number of cases reported among medical workers before the drive, said Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Ahmad Amzad Hashim.
An average of 436 cases among health personnel was reported in a month when the first wave of Covid-19 hit the country in March last year, he added.
According to Amzad, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had said almost 4,800 medical workers were infected with Covid-19 between March last year and February this year, or an average of 436 people a month.
Dr Noor Hisham yesterday said 40 health personnel have been infected with Covid-19 after completing their shots, with nine of them reportedly infected after more than two weeks of receiving the second dose and 31 infected less than two weeks after the shot.
“The 40 medical workers infected with Covid-19 compared with 438,000 individuals who have completed two doses of the vaccine is a very small percentage.
“This is because 99.9% of the individuals who have completed both doses have not been infected, although they are frontliners who deal with Covid-19 patients on a daily basis.”
He said the 40 infected personnel did not experience any severe symptom caused by the virus.
Amzad said the development is in line with the implementation of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, which aims to reduce the number of infections and severe symptoms experienced by patients. – Bernama, April 18, 2021