KUALA LUMPUR: A booster dose is required for 70% of the adult population before Ramadan in April. Otherwise, analysts predict an increase in hospitalisation rates that will strain public health systems.
According to Dr. Safiya Amaran, a public health professional, this should cover the one million senior folks and 3.5 million Sinovac vaccine recipients who have yet to receive the booster injection.
According to data from the Health Ministry’s CovidNow webpage, 41.3 percent of people aged 18 and over had obtained their boosters as of today.
“This leaves the authorities with a small window to achieve the target because most Malays would be against getting their shots during Ramadan or Hari Raya Aidilfitri. You can see this based on last year’s vaccine appointment cancellation rates during the period.
“The situation then was scarier due to the Delta variant and hospitalisation rates,” she told the New Straits Times yesterday.
According to the Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin lecturer, as an extra precaution, at least 70% of children aged 5 to 11 should be immunised, as should 90% of teenagers.
“We are reaching the target for adolescents, but for children the situation is similar with the booster uptake for adults as parents are also holding out, waiting to see how the vaccination on children fares.
“This poses a problem as during Hari Raya, the elderly are going to want to sit close and hug and kiss their grandchildren and vice versa. While the primary defence will still be the booster to protect the elderly and immuno-compromised, the insurance will be the children’s shots.”
She stated that delaying the booster shot and inoculating youngsters was not the best way to proceed because the Omicron wave had only recently began in Malaysia and some experts had predicted that it could take up to three months to reach a plateau.
“If you hold out on your booster shot and you get sick during a time that a lot of people are in the ICU (intenstive care unit) and health services are overwhelmed, or your child gets sick and the situation is similar, you can’t blame anyone,” she said.
Dr. Safiya stated that the authorities needed to ramp up awareness campaigns to persuade those on the fence to get the booster because the proportion of coverage in the Malay heartland states needed to be greatly boosted before any “balik kampung” exodus could begin.
There is a contrast in booster coverage in the Klang Valley (66.9%) and rural Malay or Bumiputera heartland states like as Sabah (24.8%), Kelantan (25.3%), Perlis (30.9%), Terengganu (38.4%), Kedah (43.9%), and Pahang (43.9%). (48.3 per cent).
These data were recently referenced in a tweet by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin. He also stated that the Malay minority had the lowest rates of booster uptake in urban states.
According to Dr. Safiya, even hardliners in the United Kingdom caved down owing to frequent reminders to obtain their vaccine.
“Imagine waking up to messages about getting your booster every day. Eventually, you will get your booster shot.
“What is happening now is that there are many fence-sitters, with the top one per cent of the uptake attributed to pro-vaxxers and the bottom one per cent to anti-vaxxers.
“And in areas where the ministry’s messages have not become clear or the vaccination drive and coverage is slow or not aggressive, the anti-vaxxers have managed to sow seeds of doubt in the the populace. That’s why they are waiting and seeing.”
She stated that one approach to instil the lesson in children is through cartoon characters and mascots on television.
“The pre-pandemic hand-washing campaign by children show Omar & Hana has managed to instill personal hygiene habits in my son, who is only 3 years old, and I have observed this in my nieces and nephews as well.”
Dr. Malina Osman, an epidemiologist, expressed alarm about the rising number of daily deaths, including brought-in-dead cases, as well as the rising ICU rates.
“It is important to practise self-regulation by keeping away from activities that involve removing the face mask in public, crowded or social settings outside our homes. This is especially if you are among the elderly, immunocompromised, those with comorbidities, pregnant or living with high-risk groups.
“Dining at restaurants should be done judiciously and face masks should be removed only when eating.”
Unvaccinated children, she suggested, should be encouraged to stay at home and complete their education online until they received their shots.
“The transmission of the Omicron variant is three to four times higher than Delta.
“All those aged 18 and above need to be boosted, especially the elderly and we should generally go for testing following high-risk activities.”
