IPOH: A serology or antibody test may not be accurate enough to determine whether or not someone is fully vaccinated.
Malaysian Society of Allergy and Immunology president Prof Dr Baharudin Abdullah said it is still unclear whether or not such tests have any value in determining a person s immunity status post-vaccination. According to the US Food and Drug Administration, the Covid-19 vaccine induces antibodies differently from a natural infection. An individual infected with Covid-19 may be tested positive by the antibody test but the antibodies from a vaccinated person may not be detectable, he said when contacted on Sunday (July 25).
This came about following reports that pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer are making plans for such jabs.
Universiti Malaya epidemiologist Prof Datuk Dr Awang Bulgiba Awang Mahmud said local data must be collected to determine how long the Covid-19 vaccines were effective for.
“The rapid evolution of the virus in this pandemic means vaccines need to remain effective against newer variants.
“Booster doses will depend on which vaccines have been administered to vaccine recipients.
“Not all vaccines are equally effective and we need local data for this, ” he said.
Dr Awang Bulgiba, who is the head of the Independent Covid-19 Vaccination Advisory Committee, said it had recommended a voluntary Covid-19 vaccination registry to be set up to compile such data.
PETALING JAYA: Reducing the dosing interval for AstraZeneca vaccines is needed to protect Malaysians better, health experts say, especially with variants posing a risk to the country’s mass vaccination programme.
Universiti Malaya epidemiologist Prof Datuk Dr Awang Bulgiba Awang Mahmud said shortening the dose interval may be needed due to the global prevalence of the Delta variant which threatens to undermine the countries’ road to recovery.
“At first, enabling maximum coverage of the population was used as a rationale for longer dose intervals in the UK to get the maximum number of people with at least some protection afforded by a single dose.
Second shot: Second dose vaccine recipients posing for a group photo in Seremban. Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Various parties are gearing up for the launch of the second phase of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme on April 19, though much remains to be done to hit the ground running.
Under the second phase, the elderly, chronically ill and people with disabilities are prioritised for vaccination.
People in these groups can check for their vaccination appointment on the MySejahtera app or on the website https://www.vaksincovid.gov.my/
As of March 28, about two million people had signed up under the second phase to receive either the Pfizer or Sinovac vaccine, though the original target was nine million people.
PETALING JAYA: The special protection scheme for Covid-19 vaccine side effects must clearly set out key details such as eligibility criteria and the timeframe for greater transparency, say legal experts.
Lawyer Charlaine Chin, who specialises in medico-legal cases, said the eligibility criteria should include whether this would be open to all people under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme or only for a selected portion.
“There should also be clear guidelines on the side effects and the severity that are covered under the scheme. This is to ensure that the same yardstick is applicable across the board, ” she said.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had said that details of the plan would be announced tomorrow.