40 infected - Health DG reminds why vaccinated must still follow SOPs

 

Forty healthcare workers have been infected with Covid-19 despite having received both doses of their Covid-19 vaccine, according to Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

This includes nine who tested positive more than two weeks after their second dose, and are thus considered fully vacinated.

He said although the vaccines offer a glimmer of hope in the fight against the pandemic, it does not mean that public health measures to curtail the disease’s spread can be relaxed just yet.

“It is clear that we still can be infected after completion of vaccination but perhaps less in severity.

“No one is safe until everyone is safe. Please continue to comply with all the precautionary public health measures,” he said in a Facebook post this morning.

According to a chart he shared, 426 of the ministry’s healthcare workers had been infected with Covid-19 from March 7 to April 15.

Of these, 244 (57 percent) have yet to be vaccinated, and 142 (34 percent) only had their first dose of the vaccine.

Another 31 (seven percent) have received their second dose but tested positive for the disease in 14 days or less. This meant that the healthcare worker involved may not have had enough time to build up immunity against the disease to the vaccine’s full potential.

Meanwhile, nine healthcare workers (two percent) tested positive more than 14 days after receiving their second dose.

“More importantly, all (of the vaccinated healthcare workers) had less severe symptoms,” Noor Hisham added.

For the record, such cases have also been reported abroad, and even in the clinical trials of all Covid-19 vaccines studied so far.

Unvaccinated folk more susceptible to disease

In the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine trial last year that reported 95 percent efficacy, for example, nine people developed Covid-19 symptoms and tested positive more than seven days after their second dose of the vaccine.

This compares favourably to the 172 people who received a placebo instead and became infected.

Meanwhile, fully vaccinated travellers arriving in Malaysia from China have also tested positive for the disease while in quarantine.

More recently on April 15, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reported to be investigating 5,800 breakthrough cases. It said the figures - about seven cases out of 100,000 vaccinated - are in line with expectations.

For context, the CDC recommends a more relaxed set of precautions for people who have been fully vaccinated. This includes allowing small gatherings without masks in some circumstances (such as if everyone in the room is also vaccinated) and travelling without testing and quarantine.

However, they must still wear masks when indoors with people at risk of severe Covid-19 infection and are to avoid medium or large gatherings. Adherence to these recommendations is voluntary.

Malaysia does not have a separate set of guidelines for vaccinated people, although Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had mooted loosening travel restrictions for vaccinated people.

Second vaccination phase begins soon

Presently, Malaysia is still in the first phase of its vaccination programme prioritising healthcare workers, lawmakers, national athletes, and other frontliners. The second phase prioritising the remaining frontliners, senior citizens, and people with chronic illnesses or disabilities would begin on Monday.

The only Covid-19 vaccines being deployed in Malaysia are Pfizer-BioNTech’s Comirnaty and Sinovac’s CoronaVac. AstraZeneca’s vaccine has also been approved but has yet to be delivered to the country.

As of April 15, 671,589 people have received at least one dose of the vaccines, while another 434,301 have received their second dose.

This amounts to less than two percent of Malaysia’s population, though the vaccination program is expected to pick up the pace once more vaccines are delivered to the country at the beginning of June.

Malaysia is aiming to vaccinate at least 70 percent of the population by February next year, which would severely curtail the spread of the disease and limit its impact on health.

The vaccination campaign’s coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin had said this goal may be achieved before the end of the year if vaccine supplies are delivered on schedule and more people sign up for vaccination. - Mkini