MP calls on eligible individuals to get Covid booster shots, vaccination
KUCHING: Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii has called upon eligible individuals to get Covid-19 booster shots or vaccine in light of the surge of infections due to the highly transmissible Omicron sub-variant BA.5.
He said data on new strains from Israel and the US showed individuals who had completed their primary vaccination and received two booster doses had a lower mortality rate compared to those who had taken only a single booster dose, especially for those aged 60 and above.
“Those who had taken one booster dose also had a lower Covid-19 mortality rate compared to individuals who have not been boosted or those who have yet to be vaccinated,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Quoting recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Yii said double boosters decreased death up to 99 per cent among those aged 50 and above during the initial Omicron wave.
He added that single boosters reduced the mortality rate up to 86 per cent and those vaccinated but not boosted also had an 81 per cent reduced death rate.
In urging the community to remain vigilant in protecting themselves against the virus, he said Omicron BA.5 is the most easily spread version of Covid-19, compared with previous Omicron variants namely BA.1 and BA.2.
He said BA.5 is particularly good at evading the immune protection afforded either by vaccination or prior infection.
“For this reason, for many people, this means they are getting re-infected, often even a short time after having Covid-19.” he said.
Yii said the Ministry of Health’s cumulative data had shown that Covid-19 reinfections during the Omicron wave were 6.3 times higher compared to reinfections reported during the Delta wave.
He noted that the Omicron wave had seen 14,630 reinfections as at July 6, while the Delta wave recorded 2,295 reinfected cases.
“The likelihood is that this variant is the dominant subvariant in our country already due to its infectivity.
“In our country alone, new daily number reported for epidemiological week 27 (July 37) recorded an increase of 31 per cent, from 11,394 to 14,967 cases, compared with the number of cases reported for the same period in epidemiological week 26 (June 26-30).
“These numbers are expected to increase and possibly peak in about two to three months,” he cautioned.
He opined these numbers had yet to paint the full picture as the country’s limited genomic sequencing did not show true distribution of sub-variants nationwide.
According to him, there is a blindspot as fewer people are doing self-tests since they have adapted to life in the transition to endemic phase.
Yii warned the public must not take the matter lightly given that the BA.5 variant could result in increased hospital admissions as seen in countries such as Singapore, Portugal, and the UK.
He opined that Malaysia could not afford to go back to imposing strict movement restrictions, thus everyone must not let their guard down but continue to take precautions to better protect themselves.
He said the World Health Organisation had, on Tuesday, said Covid-19 remained a global health emergency and countries should continue practising masking and social distancing when cases surged, alongside vaccinations.
Yii urged the public to continue using face masks, especially when they are in crowded places.
“The government must continue to strengthen our public health system in preparation for a possible surge and wave of cases in the near future,” he added.