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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.
PETALING JAYA: Registering for Covid-19 vaccines under the AstraZeneca opt-in programme has been exasperating for Sharmilla Jeevarathnam. She tried fo.
High confidence in vaccine MOHD AMIRUL SYAFIQ MOHD DIN/THESUN
PETALING JAYA: Despite reports on many who registered for inoculation but did not show up for the jab, public confidence in the vaccines remains high.
Health experts told
theSun that while some have failed to make it for their appointments at the vaccination centres, a large number of those whose date for the jabs have yet been fixed, have shown up, hoping to be vaccinated early.
The quick response to a batch of AstraZeneca vaccine, which was offered on a first-come-first-served basis on May 2, is another sign that confidence remains high.
20 Apr 2021 / 10:26 H. A Healthcare workers prepare to administer a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to a dentist at the University Hospital in Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia, on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. adib rawi yahya/theSun
PETALING JAYA: In an ideal situation, Malaysians should be allowed to choose the type of Covid-19 vaccine they want but it is not feasible, say medical experts.
Head of the Independent Covid-19 Vaccination Advisory Committee under the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, Prof Datuk Dr Awang Bulgiba Awang Mahmud, told
theSun that being given a choice would appeal to many.
“This is because there are differences between vaccines in terms of severe adverse reactions, effectiveness, the possibility of vector immunity and the fact that some of these vaccines employ technologies that some people may not be comfortable with.”