Go for cheaper testing kits to curb transmission, says think tank

 

While the government is considering to allow those who have been fully vaccinated to cross borders, a think tank has warned that a vaccination passport could also discriminate those who are not vaccinated.

PETALING JAYA: A think tank has proposed cheaper methods of mass testing to curb Covid-19 as even people who have been fully vaccinated can be infected again.

The Center for Market Education CEO Carmelo Ferlito said due to that, vaccination passports may not be effective in curbing the virus.

However, he said individuals are able to move into normalcy with affordable testing and a proper electronic tracking system.

“In fact, being tested on a weekly basis with less invasive and cheaper instruments, such as the saliva test, may prove to be non-discriminatory towards individuals who may feel at risk by getting vaccinated,” he said in a statement.

He said vaccines have limited time efficacy, with less logistic troubles in terms of vaccination rollout.

Carmelo Ferlito.

Ferlito was referring to a statement by Prime Minister Muhyddin Yassin who said the National Recovery Council would decide next week if restrictions would be lifted for those who are fully vaccinated.

Muhyiddin had said the proposed perks, including giving them access to cross district or state borders, would serve as a benefit or incentive for those who have had two doses of the vaccination.

Ferlito said despite the growing consensus worldwide about the utilisation of “green passes”, vaccine passports may be discriminatory and harmful.

“While the communists persecuted the bourgeois for being ‘inferior and dangerous subjects’, and Nazis did the same with the Jews, we may without realising it be treating in the same way those who for several reasons are not vaccinated yet,” he said.

Due to that, Ferlito said vaccination was crucial to fight against Covid-19 but the government needed to recognise that studies on vaccines are “not fully matured”.

“Consequences of vaccination on particular categories of individuals at risk, such as cancer patients, need to be assessed.”

He also warned about the possibility of the virus evolving and becoming stronger due to mass vaccination during the pandemic.

Furthermore, he said the available vaccines do not prevent infections or stop a vaccinated person from infecting others. “Therefore, a vaccination passport is not a safety certificate.” - FMT