It’s not over yet, so don’t be complacent!
A timely booster dose would be the most effective way to protect Malaysia from a similar fate as China, which is experiencing an exponential rise in COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron subvariant, BF.7.
Photo via India Today
According to the New Straits Times, Dr Vinod Balasubramaniam, a molecular virologist, expressed concern about Malaysians' "worryingly low" uptake of Covid-19 booster shots.
Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, director-general of health, said yesterday that only 49.8% of the population had received the first booster dose. The number of people who received their second booster dose was even lower, at only 1.9%, he added.
Dr. Vinod claimed that BF.7 had the strongest infection ability of the Omicron sub variants, being faster to transmit than other variants, having a shorter incubation period, and having a greater capacity to infect people who had previously been infected with Covid-19, or who had been vaccinated, or both.
According to the most recent data, BF.7 has a R0, or basic reproduction number, of 10 to 18.6.
"This means an infected person will transmit the virus to an average of 10 to 18.6 other people. Research has shown Omicron has an average R0 of 5.08."
A high-level meeting took place on 30 December between WHO and China about the current surge in COVID-19 cases, to seek...
Posted by Noor Hisham Abdullah on Saturday, 31 December 2022
Oh no! That is very dangerous.
Please stay safe, everyone! Take a test if you’re feeling unwell or are experiencing COVID-like symptoms.
And get your COVID-19 booster dose, if you haven’t! We’re all in this together!
