Not all Omicron wave cases are ‘mild’, MMA reminds

 

The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has warned against complacency in face of the ongoing Omicron wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially for those who have yet to receive their booster shots.

MMA president Dr Koh Kar Chai said although most Covid-19 cases now are mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic, there are still some cases where individuals have contracted severe Covid-19 and even Long Covid despite being fully vaccinated.

He urged people to get Covid-19 booster shots if they are already fully vaccinated to ensure that they have the best available protection against the disease.

“For those still unvaccinated, they should not delay any further as Omicron is spreading more quickly in the community compared to earlier Covid-19 variants.

“As we transition into an endemic state, people are reminded that the low rate of hospitalisations and deaths are largely due to the high uptake of vaccination in this country. Statistics have also shown the benefits of getting boosted.

“To those who have yet to take the boosters and especially so to those in the comorbid and above 60s group who have even yet to take their first dose, you are at high risk of developing severe Covid-19. Don’t add yourselves to the daily rate of severe Covid-19 cases or even deaths,” he said in a statement today.

‘Best vaccine is the one in the arm’

Koh noted that the government has made several Covid-19 vaccines available, particularly Pfizer’s Comirnaty vaccine and Sinovac’s Coronavac vaccine although not all vaccination centres have stocked the latter vaccine.

“People are advised to go for whichever vaccines are available and not sit on it as we need to overcome the current wave of the Omicron variant which though said to be mild, can still overwhelm our healthcare system with disastrous consequences.

“It is to be remembered that the best vaccine is still the one that is in your arm,” he said.

The Omicron variant is more transmissible than previous variants and also more capable of evading immune responses of current vaccines, but also less likely to lead to severe illness and death compared to the Delta variant that came before it.

Between Omicron’s reduced severity and Malaysia’s high vaccination rate, Health Ministry data shows that only about 3 percent of active cases are hospitalised, while another 0.1 percent are admitted to intensive care units including those who require mechanical ventilation to breathe.

Moreover, roughly one-third of cases hospitalised each day are still in Category 1 and 2 (no symptoms, or symptomatic without pneumonia) at the time of admission.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin told a press conference last Thursday that these are individuals who have been hospitalised pre-emptively as a precautionary measure due to the presence of risk factors associated with severe Covid-19, such as diabetes, old age, and uncontrolled chronic diseases.

In comparison, at the height of the Delta wave last year, about 10 percent of active cases are hospitalised on any given day. The figure goes as high as 18 percent at the start of the wave when the vaccination rate was still low.

Meanwhile, ICU usage at the time hovered around 2 percent of active cases, including those that require ventilation.

At the same time, the case fatality rate has fallen from 2 percent in July last year to 0.1 percent.

Severe Covid outcomes less frequent in boosted populations

Despite the low percentage of cases developing severe disease or ending in death, the rapidly rising number of cases still means many are being hospitalised or succumb to the disease.

As of yesterday, 7,783 people have been hospitalised, 108 have been admitted to ICU, and 164 have been ventilated due to Covid-19. In seven days up to yesterday, 241 Covid-19 deaths have been reported including 82 who died before receiving hospital care.

Those who survive could potentially develop long-term complications known as “Long Covid”, such as brain fog, fatigue, and an elevated risk of developing heart and mental problems; though a UK review found that vaccination can halve some of these risks.

Meanwhile, Health Ministry-released data today showing that the incidence of Category 3, 4, and 5 cases and Covid-19 deaths among people who have received booster shots is lower than those who merely received their primary vaccinations, and the incidence of these severe outcomes are even higher among unvaccinated populations.

Category 3 cases refer to Covid-19 cases that have developed pneumonia, while Category 4 cases have pneumonia but also require supplementary oxygen. Category 5 cases are where multiple organs have been affected and such cases generally require ICU admission.

The analysis is based on data collected between Jan 24 and Feb 21, amid the ongoing Omicron wave.

For example, among people above 80 years old, the incidence of Covid-19 deaths is nearly 100 per 100,000 population, while fully vaccinated people do slightly better at just below 80 per 100,000 population.

The incidence among boosted people of that age group is nearly a quarter of that of fully vaccinated people, at just above 20 per 100,000. The Health Ministry has issued charts illustrating its findings (below) but did not provide exact figures. - Mkini