Learn from S’pore’s error, don’t commit a ‘Himalayan blunder’

THE surge in confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths in Singapore after its declaration of “living with COVID-19” strategy should serve as an example to all other Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, that it is still premature to declare COVID-19 an endemic. 

There is a need to move ahead of the pandemic as we know more about the coronavirus. A more effective vaccination programme is needed, including a more flexible implementation of third booster dose vaccination programme and embark on children vaccination campaign in order to get more than 90% of the total population immunised by end of the year. 

Hence, the Health Ministry (MOH) should also announce the daily inoculation numbers and rates for adolescents and children below 17 years of age.

The European countries, along with Canada, the UK and the US had effectively approved heterologous prime boost strategy to combat and contain new variants.

Therefore, diversification of vaccine sources and supply to making heterologous prime boost more flexible would help speed up the containment of the pandemic to endemic phase. 

As of now, there are concerns from the public regarding MOH’s delayed action in moving the third dose booster campaign especially among the vulnerable senior citizens, public servants and health care workers.

The ministry must announce the research data and findings on the benefits of heterologous and homologous prime boost. 

So far, Institute of Clinical Research (ICR) has not officially announced its peer-reviewed data on the matter. 

Malaysia has three COVID-19 vaccines available locally including Sinovac’s CoronaVac, Pfizer’s Cominarty and Astra Zeneca’s Vaxzevria.

So far, MOH has only approved the mix-and-match regime that is third dose with Comirnaty, after two doses of CoronaVac.

Nonetheless, there has been no specific data released on the efficacy and safety profile of the said regime. 

Use data, make early purchases 

Data on other mixed combinations of vaccine booster should be released too, including Pfizer’s followed by Sinovac’s as the third dose booster; Astra Zeneca’s followed by Pfizer’s or Sinovac’s, and Sinovac’s by Astra Zeneca’s, respectively. 

Proven efficacy with more diverse mixed combinations of vaccines will allow more flexibility in administering the booster doses and achieve herd immunity to enter into the endemic phase. 

Our country must continue enforcing public health measures and vigilance. We could do more to safely implement plans for endemic phase only after multivalent vaccines are available, which is predicted to be available the earliest by the middle of next year. 

There are already a few teams researching on multivalent vaccines which MOH should seriously be looking into it, including getting locally based data on their efficacy at an early stage to make early procurements and implementation of vaccination programmes next year, before declaring the pandemic entering an endemic phase. – Oct 26, 2021

 

Dr Boo Cheng Hau is a general practitioner and Johor DAP state committee member. 

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.

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