Expectant mums, people with comorbidities to also get booster shots

 

Malaysians will be offered Covid-19 booster jabs six months after their second dose.

PETALING JAYA: Pregnant mothers and adults with comorbidities have been added to the list of priority recipients for Covid-19 booster shots.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the list would now also include non-healthcare frontliners and those aged 40 and above.

He said many in this age group may not necessarily be aware that they have a non-communicable disease.

“The health ministry will continue to monitor Covid-19 developments from time to time and keep giving booster shots to make sure Malaysians receive optimum protection from Covid-19,” he said in a statement.

Malaysia started giving out booster shots on Oct 13 with a focus on the elderly, the immunocompromised and frontline workers. These jabs are to be administered six months after their second dose.

Noor Hisham said AstraZeneca and Sinovac had submitted data for the use of their vaccines as boosters, adding that it would be reviewed at the next Drug Control Authority meeting on Nov 17.

He also said the ministry would be carrying out a pilot study on mixing and matching vaccines for booster shots.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Clinical Research director Dr Kalaiarasu Peariasamy said a local study of nearly 300,000 hospital admissions found that both Pfizer and Sinovac had shown “clear waning of effectiveness” against Covid-19 infection after about three to five months.

While Pfizer had a 88.7% efficacy rate after one to two months, this dropped to 68% after three to five months. The corresponding figures for Sinovac were 76.1% and 27.9%, he said. - FMT