Children who are moderately to severely immunocompromised is urged to have a third dose of the vaccine.
According to Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, a third dosage of the Covid-19 vaccine is advised for children between the ages of five and 17 who are moderately to severely immunocompromised in order to finish the three-dose main vaccination series.
According to a statement made by Khairy today about the Technical Working Committee’s (TWG) proposal for the Covid-19 vaccine, the process or technique for administering the third dosage as well as the first booster shot for adolescents will soon be finalised and made public.
According to him, the advice was made in light of the existing state of the vaccine’s efficacy among high-risk teenagers.
According to Khairy, the TWG advised reclassifying the booster dose for people between the ages of 12 and 17 who have moderate to severe immunocompromised conditions as the third dose, which would be given in addition to the primary immunisation.
The delivery of a booster dose to people 12 years of age and older who are moderately to severely immunocompromised was announced by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on April 14.
The primary dose of the Covid-19 vaccine for adolescents had a 93.5 percent immunisation rate as of yesterday.
However, research from other countries have revealed that after five to ten months of receiving a second dose, the degree of effectiveness of the vaccination on hospital admission among teenagers declined by 42 to 73 percent.
According to Khairy, people with moderate to severe immunocompromised conditions would receive additional doses, either to finish the three-dose primary vaccine series or as the first and second booster doses.
For those between the ages of five and eleven, subsequent dosages will be administered at least eight weeks after the second treatment, according to Khairy.
He stated that those between the ages of 12 and 17 will get another dose at least 28 days after getting the first one.
People between the ages of 18 and 59, especially frontline healthcare personnel like medical officers and nurses, who were at a high risk of contracting a serious or severe Covid-19 infection, would receive the second booster dose, according to him.
He explained that patients (18 years of age and older) must have had the second dose of their main vaccine at least three months prior to receiving the CanSino heterologous booster.
