Complete vaccination needed for relaxed SOPs regardless of phase, says Khairy

The requirement for individuals to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to enjoy the easing of restrictions in social and economic sectors still applies in all phases of the National Recovery Plan (NRP), Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said today.

He said the Cabinet at its meeting today had agreed that every form of relaxation announced before this be implemented on condition that the full vaccination status applies for all phases of the NRP.

In a statement, he said this followed the latest developments regarding the transitioning of phases for all states and the dominant position of the Delta variant, which makes up 94.9% of the new variants detected in the country.

“This decision was made after taking into consideration the safety of the people, (the need for) the strengthening of the country’s public health system and the smooth reopening of the economy, as well as to ensure that the government’s efforts to begin the transition process to the endemic phase is undertaken safely,” he added.

Khairy said individuals who could not be vaccinated for health reasons should provide the relevant health information, verified by medical officers.

Kedah, Penang, Perak, Kelantan, Johor and Sabah are now in Phase Two; Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Selangor, Melaka, Perlis, Pahang, Terengganu and Sarawak are in Phase Three; and Negeri Sembilan and Labuan are in Phase Four of the four-phase recovery plan.

Khairy said an individual is considered fully vaccinated 14 days after completing the second dose of the Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines, while recipients of single-dose vaccines such as Johnson & Johnson and CanSino are categorised as fully vaccinated after 28 days from the date of injection.

He said the country’s ability to exit the pandemic would depend not only on the government’s efforts and strategy but also on the people’s level of compliance with the SOPs.

“If the people become complacent due to the relaxations given, it is not impossible for the situation in terms of infections to take a turn for the worse again,” he said.

Khairy said the details on the SOPs for the recovery phases would be announced by the National Security Council soon.