Experts: Slow Start to Vaccination Programme, New Variants behind Current Surge in Covid-19 Cases

Delays to the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NIP) and the emergence of new variants were possible reasons for the surge in new cases despite the country’s high vaccination rate, said health experts.

Immunopathology specialist and president of Sunway University, Prof Sibrandes Poppema, said the current surge in cases could have come from the large number of undocumented foreigners that have yet to be vaccinated.

“This will hopefully be remedied by having walk-in vaccination centres and, as I would suggest, vaccination (centre) setups at the factories,” he said.

Poppema concurred that the unvaccinated remain vulnerable despite the rise in vaccinations, pointing out that even the fully vaccinated were still able to be infected and pass on Covid-19.

He noted that while almost 100 per cent of the adult population in Klang Valley have received at least one dose, it was the number of those fully vaccinated that mattered most.

“Partial vaccination provides limited protection. Although full vaccination protects against serious disease, it only protects partially against contracting the virus and spreading the virus.

“This is especially the case with the two dominant variants of the virus in Klang Valley, which are the Beta and Delta variants,” he said.

However, Poppema saw positives from how most of the new cases reported were those with either mild or asymptomatic.

“Despite all of these factors it is also clear from the figures that the vast majority, more than 98 per cent, of the positive tests is in individuals with no or mild symptoms and this is likely to be a first positive effect of the vaccinations,” he points out.

This article was an excerpt from the report published on Malay Mail.