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PETALING JAYA: Medical experts believe Malaysia is on track to meet the targeted administration of 500,000 Covid-19 vaccine injections under the first phase of the National Covid-19 Immunization Program (NIP).
The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) told the Sun that the first phase is expected to conclude in April.
“The sudden decision to dose politicians could have delayed the initial part. Phase two will run smoothly if private facilities are also co-opted, ”MMA President Professor Datuk Dr. M. Subramaniam said yesterday.
It has also been reported that of the 500,000 vaccinated, only 100,000 have received the second dose of the vaccine.
Subramaniam said this was expected as there should be a three week interval between doses.
“Low registrations are also contributing to the delay, as are those in the category who have registered but have not received notification on the date that they will be vaccinated,” he added.
Epidemiologist Dr. Malina Osman of the Universiti Putra Malaysia said Malaysia is on the right track and the 500,000 avant-garde will have received their second dose of the vaccine on April 20 as scheduled.
He added that if we go ahead of schedule, the second phase should begin before the previously announced start date.
“We hope that phase two will start soon and can be rolled out smoothly as scheduled,” he said.
Professor Sanjay Rampal from the Faculty of Epidemiology and Public Health at Universiti Malaya told the Sun that according to statistics, we are on track to complete phase one as scheduled.
He added that vaccination centers have also had time to streamline their processes to be more efficient.
However, Sanjay warned that hurdles would be unavoidable in phase two, as daily vaccination rates would increase more than 11 times compared to phase one.
“Factors such as vaccine delivery, efficient scaling up of vaccine delivery, gaining better access to target populations, bridging the digital divide, and improving vaccine knowledge can all influence the likelihood of completing phase 2 on schedule.” , He said.
Virologist Professor Dr. Sandy Loh from the Universiti Nottingham Malaysia said the government is making great efforts to assist in the vaccination process.
This includes the creation of more vaccination centers and the participation of private clinics and hospitals.
“Vaccine shortages and distribution difficulties in some states may mean that vaccination (exercise) is not progressing as well as we hoped,” Loh said.
He added that the issue of vaccinating vaccinations needs to be addressed, as the rate of vaccination registration in the MySejahtera app remains low.
“It is necessary to strengthen the campaign to promote vaccination to ensure that there are no delays.”
Loh believes that opposition to vaccines can pose a real challenge to herd immunity if the proportion of people vaccinated in a community falls below the threshold for herd immunity, which is at least 70% of the total population.
“In addition, we are now competing with possible emerging virus variants, which could be more transmissible.
“There is a fear that current vaccines are not as effective in curbing new variants of the virus.”
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