Don't wait for bivalent vaccine, get boosters now – Zaliha

The Health Ministry has urged Malaysians not to wait for the new Covid-19 bivalent vaccines.

In a statement, Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said the presently available monovalent vaccines are effective in preventing serious illness and death caused by Covid-19.

"The ministry urges the public that has received their first booster more than six months ago to receive a second dose without waiting for the bivalent vaccine," she said.

Zaliha (above) said 49.8 percent of eligible Malaysians had received the first booster vaccine while another 1.9 percent has received their second.

In December, the Drug Control Authority (DCA) granted conditional approval for Pfizer's updated Covid-19 vaccines.

The new vaccine was supposed to provide improved protection against the BA.5 Omicron subvariant although its performance with newer variants such as XBB and BQ.1 is still being studied.

Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has previously stated that the bivalent vaccine should arrive in late January.

For now, Pfizer's bivalent vaccine will only be available to those who previously received Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca or CanSino's Covid-19 vaccines.

Public interest in the new bivalent comes amidst concern over China's decision to drop off most Covid-19 protocols and open its borders while lacking data transparency.

Officially, the impact of these measures was low. However various news reports are claiming packed hospitals and mortuaries once China lifted its strict Covid-19 rules.

Zaliha said Malaysia was prepared to tighten health border measures with the extension of the "infected local areas" declaration to June 30.

"(This allows us) to tighten standard operating procedures to conduct health checks at entry points. It will be implemented if necessary on those entering the country, including Malaysian citizens, from anywhere in the world," she said. - Mkini