By Mei Kuan
According to a media statement posted on the official Facebook page of the Ministry of Health today, findings from the clinical research and real world research including The Real-World Evaluation of COVID-19 Vaccines Under the Malaysia National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (RECoVaM) carried out in Malaysia showed that the efficacy level of vaccines against COVID-19 infection decreases over time.
“The latest data showed that the Omicron variant can cause higher rates of infection, higher viral binding affinity and higher antibody escape from immunity caused by vaccine or natural infection,” Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin highlighted via the statement.
Besides that, concrete evidence collected from the past three weeks showed that the COVID-19 booster vaccine can increase protection against infection of the Omicron variant. The findings of preliminary research involving 21 million administrations of booster doses implemented in the United Kingdom had shown very convincing safety data.
“In line with that, regulatory bodies in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, as well as the panel of health experts, are currently recommending that the booster dose can be administered as early as three months after receiving the primary vaccine,” he explained.
Then, he shared the latest recommendations by the technical working group on the administration of COVID-19 booster dose which are as follows:
- All elderly of 60 years old and above and all adults who have received all types of vaccines (Pfizer, AZ and CoronaVac) are highly recommended to get their booster shots at least 3 months after receiving primary vaccines.
- Individuals with comorbidities, long-term residents and workers at healthcare centres and adults aged 18 and above who are fully vaccinated at least 3 months after receiving primary vaccines are recommended to get their boosters according to the age de-escalation approach i.e beginning with those 50 years old and above, 40 years old and above followed by 18 years old and above.
“The recommendations of the technical working group will be reviewed from time to time based on the latest data and information,” he added.
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