‘SERIOUS CASES DOWN THANKS TO NIP’
Reduction in categories 4 & 5 infections show programme is effective, says PM
MALAYSIA is seeing a significant decrease in the number of serious Covid-19 cases thanks to the accelerated nationwide vaccination drive, said Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The prime minister, however, said he had instructed the Health Ministry to be better prepared to receive new admissions of Covid19 cases and to provide the patients with the best possible treatment at all government hospitals amid the vaccination programme.
This, he said, was crucial as the world was recording an upward trend in Covid-19 cases with the emergence of more virulent variants.
“The data shows that serious Covid-19 cases recorded a significant decrease with vaccine administration.
“For example, among the elderly group (60 years and above), the trend of admissions to Sungai Buloh Hospital for positive cases in categories 4 and 5 has decreased by more than 50 per cent in the past month.
“The elderly group is in Phase 2 of the Covid-19 National Immunisation Programme (NIP) and now, the positive impact of this vaccine administration is becoming evident,” he wrote in his Facebook page yesterday.
Muhyiddin said the same went for all Health Ministry personnel, where they had received their Covid-19 vaccine earlier under Phase 1 of the NIP.
It was found that only 1.26 per cent of the ministry’s healthcare personnel were infected after completing their vaccinations, he added.
“A total of 99.8 per cent of them had only mild or asymptomatic infection, and none suffered a Category 5 infection.
“Another example is Labuan, where the Delta variant was first detected in our country. The government took immediate action by increasing the supply of vaccines to Labuan.
“As a result, the number of positive cases and deaths due to Covid-19 in Labuan has been reduced with the increase in vaccination rates.”
Additionally, Muhyiddin said, the statement by Health directorgeneral Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah that more than 90 per cent of Covid-19 positive cases in our country were in categories 1 and 2 was reassuring.
This meant that most patients were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms, and were capable of recovering, he said.
On Operation Surge Capacity being carried out in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, he said this was an immediate action taken by the government to address the sharp rise in positive cases in the two states.
“Under this operation, as announced by NIP Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba, all 6.1 million adult population in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor will receive at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by Aug 1.
“This involves the administration of the vaccine at a rate of 1.3 million doses until July 25 and another 1.3 million doses between July 26 and Aug 1.
“To date, 3.5 million of the adult population in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
“We are all trying to fight Covid-19. We must always persevere to continue to fight and fight. God willing, we will win in the end.”
Muhyiddin said all senior citizens in the Klang Valley would be vaccinated with at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in the next few weeks. This was in line with the decision to allow them to walk in and be vaccinated at all vaccination centres (PPVs) and
government health facilities in the Klang Valley from yesterday, he said.
“All PPVs, clinics and health facilities under the Health Ministry are ready to accept these senior citizens, whether they are registered or unregistered,” he said after visiting pharmaceutical company Pharmaniaga LifeScience Sdn Bhd here yesterday.
Muhyiddin said up to July 15, a total of 3,025,275 senior citizens had registered for vaccination and that 2,680,880, or 88.61 per cent of them, had received at least one dose of vaccine.
Prior to this, Khairy had said that senior citizens who have yet to receive an appointment could “walk in” at any PPV in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor to get their first dose of a vaccine shot beginning yesterday.
Touching on the supply of vaccines, Muhyiddin said Pharmaniaga was very close to fulfilling the 12.4 million doses of the vaccine delivery as agreed in a contract.