KUALA LUMPUR – The spread of the Covid-19 Delta variant can be controlled by vaccinating the unvaccinated, rather than pushing for booster shots, said Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
In a 2am tweet today, he said giving booster shots to the fully vaccinated will not help curb the spread of the Delta variant.
“We must increase the overall vaccine coverage in the country before considering booster shots. No one is safe until everyone is safe.”
Pemberian dos penggalak (booster dose) kepada mereka yang telah lengkap divaksinkan tidak akan membantu mengawal penularan varian Delta. Akan tetapi yang dapat mengawal penularan Delta adalah untuk memberi vaksin kepada mereka yang belum divaksinkan. pic.twitter.com/Jgc1iZpR1F
— Noor Hisham Abdullah (@DGHisham) August 25, 2021
Yesterday, the Selangor assembly was told that the government is making preparations to provide Covid-19 vaccine booster shots under its Selangor Vaccine Programme (Selvax).
State Public Health, Unity, Women and Family Development Committee chairman Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud said preparations included providing the vaccine to those aged 18 and below, subject to approval by the Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee.
Dr Siti said that as of last Sunday, the number of vaccines dispensed under Selvax Komuniti was 224,880 doses, with 275,120 doses remaining.
For Selvax Industri, 142,719 doses of the vaccine have been administered up to Sunday out of 750,000 doses allocated, she added.
In late June, then vaccine coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the government is studying the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines against the Delta variant and the need for a third shot.
“We want to get better data on how long vaccine protection lasts and at what point we should begin the third dose, if needed. This is for next year’s forecast.”
He said the data was needed so that Malaysia could decide whether to start vaccine procurement negotiations for next year.
On August 6, Health Deputy Director-General (Public Health) Datuk Dr Chong Chee Kheong revealed Malaysia’s new Covid-19 wave was largely due to the Delta strain.
Meanwhile, Sarawak is expected to administer Covid-19 booster shots this October.
The state Disaster Management Committee is drawing up plans for this with the Sarawak Covid-19 Advisory Group, said committee adviser Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian today.
Dr Sim, who is the state housing and local government minister, said the booster shot is needed to deal with continuous high infections now, especially with new variants. – The Vibes, August 26, 2021
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