The recent press conference by the new health minister confirmed my suspicions that new Covid boosters had never been in the works.
It bothered me, the cagey statements by the previous health minister, and the perpetual silence on all things Covid-related.
From the announcement I gleaned that only now is there any thought being put into getting more boosters and even then, only older ones and not the newer bivalent jabs.
Recent social media postings also revealed a fact not mentioned at the press conference or in recent press releases: that the only boosters left are Sinovac boosters.
Various studies have shown that the Sinovac jabs are not nearly as effective as ones from Pfizer or Novavax but we have surplus of those jabs in the country due to some poor decision making on the part of whoever procured them.
Now cases are spiking to 3,000 a day and the indoctrination of the masses that Covid is “no big deal” and “just like the flu” is just a sobering reminder that the anti vaxxers have won.
I am tired of seeing Malaysians who should know better spreading conspiracy theories, sending me nasty social media messages that I am “not qualified” to speak about the pandemic.
I don’t think lockdowns will serve any purpose now but it astounds me that basic precautions such as ventilation standards aren’t in place.
More than five people I know have gotten Covid in the last couple of weeks, some of them for the first time.
Test kits are now sold out in many pharmacies and I heard rumours that whatever is in the market is set to expire by February next year.
No tests, no boosters, no regulations — when have we become so blasé about basic health precautions?
The use of masks has become so politicised that in places where they were in standard use even before the pandemic, those requirements have now loosened.
I feel like the world has gone mad.
Perhaps that’s why I feel somewhat comforted that my favourite char kuey teow seller has always been masked even though hardly any of the other workers or stall operators bother in the kopitiam I frequent.
My housemate prefers the other, closer shop for CKT as they have lap cheong and supposedly decent mi siam.
That shop, however, isn’t nearly as well-ventilated as the other one that has high ceilings, a lot of fans and is open on two sides so at least my Covid risk is much lower.
I am not asking for lockdowns but the option to get another booster (my last one was in July last year), stronger encouragement to wear masks, basic air quality standards in malls and offices and more availability of test kits.
Employers also need to stop asking people to give medical leave notes for getting Covid or perhaps the requirement for medical leave chits should just be abolished except for illnesses exceeding two weeks.
Why do people think making a very sick person drag themselves to a clinic or hospital just to prove they’re sick enough is in any way a good thing?
What am I doing at the moment? I’ve stopped going out except for very short excursions, only eating at home, and doing research on other possible mitigations.
There’s promising data on the effectiveness of oral probiotics, specifically the strain streptococcus salivarius on mitigating Covid infections in vaccinated adults so I now keep a bottle handy.
At the very least it’s not harmful in any way and has often been prescribed for dental health or halitosis so unlike a certain medication used for horse deworming, it won’t do any harm.
All I wish for this coming new year is better Covid prevention measures and for, of all people, the tourism minister to not put tourism numbers over public health.
It feels like such a small ask but seeing how even medical professionals are refusing to mask and vaccinate, getting Covid again seems almost inevitable.
For those who can afford it, you can get a booster from neighbouring Singapore if you can stomach paying S$138 (RM483) for the privilege and if you can’t, at the very least please remember that Covid is airborne and a vascular disease, not a respiratory ailment.
May sanity return in 2024 or at least, more Covid vaccinations.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
