Flexibility for fully vaccinated people to be announced soon

A certain flexibility for individuals who have completed two doses of Covid-19 vaccine will be announced soon, says Health Minister Dr Adham Baba.

“The announcement will be made soon,” he said following Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s statement yesterday that the government was considering giving a certain leeway to individuals who have completed two doses of vaccine, including allowing them to dine in at restaurants and to travel inter-district and interstate.

Muhyiddin said he had asked the Special Committee for Ensuring Access to Covid-19 Vaccine Supply to re-evaluate the SOPs to give flexibility to those who are fully vaccinated.

Adham, at a virtual press conference on the development of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) with PICK coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin today, said a total of 172 pregnant healthcare workers had been infected with Covid-19 with most in Categories One and Two.

He said 51 individuals are in Category One, 117 are in Category Two and the remaining are in Category Five.

Category One patients are asymptomatic, Category Two have mild symptoms, Category Three covers patients with pneumonia, Category Four involves patients requiring oxygen and Category Five, patients who require respiratory assistance.

Adham said from July 4 to 10, 870 active clusters were detected nationwide with an infectivity rate (Rt) of 1.13.

“The clusters that recorded an increase during the week are those related to workplaces, education and detention centres,” he said.

He also said that a total of 19.0 responses per 1,000 doses of vaccine administered since the start of PICK regarding adverse events following immunisation (Aefi) were received through the MySejahtera application.

The side effects reported included pain at the injection site, headache and fatigue, he said.

Based on the Aefi monitoring system of the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency, only 0.06 reports were received for every 1,000 doses of vaccine that were classified as serious and requiring further treatment and hospitalisation.