KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry has advised individuals aged 60 and above and those who have underlying health problems to take the second Covid-19 booster dose, following the rise of the Omicron BA.5 variant.
Its minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the ministry is expecting a rise in Covid-19 infections due to the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants.
"The Omicron BA.5 variant is the most easily transmissible of the Covid-19 variants to date. It is more contagious than previous Omicron variants namely BA.1 and BA.2.
"Those who have completed their Covid-19 vaccinations or have been previously infected with the virus are also likely to be infected if not, re-infected with this variant.
"This will also contribute to an increase in Covid-19 infections in the next few weeks," he told a press conference today.
Khairy said countries such as Singapore, Portugal, the UK and others have seen an increase in hospital admissions due to the spread of the virus.
"Data from Israel and the United States, however, show that individuals who have completed the primary dose of the vaccination and received two booster doses, especially in the age group of 60 and above, have lower mortality rates than those who have only one booster dose.
"Meanwhile, those who had a single booster dose have a lower risk of death from Covid-19 than those who did not receive a booster dose or did not receive the vaccination at all."
Khairy also said individuals aged 60 and above can make appointments for a Covid-19 booster dose through the booking link in the MySejahtera application.
"Based on the latest developments of Covid-19 infections, I would like to urge individuals who have not yet received a booster dose or a second booster to get it immediately, especially for high-risk individuals," he added.
For high-risk individuals such as the elderly, frontline workers or individuals with co-morbidities who have received their first booster dose, Khairy urged them to obtain a second booster dose after six months of receiving the first booster.
"The second booster is available free of charge at registered private vaccination centres (PPVs) listed at https:// vaksincovid.protecthealth.com.my/find."
The public is advised to contact the PPV in advance for an appointment.
For Individuals aged 18–59 in the immunocompromised category, Khairy said they should undergo an evaluation by their treating physician first before obtaining a second booster dose.
For children from five to 17-years-old under the immunocompromised category, Khairy advised an additional dose to complete the three primary doses of vaccination after the children undergo a physician's evaluation.
"The eligibility criteria for recipients of this third dose is that those aged five to 11-years-old in the immunocompromised category must be certified by government and private physicians.
"They can receive the booster at least eight weeks after receiving the second dose," he said.
Meanwhile, Khairy said the Health Ministry was looking into recommendations of a second booster dose for individuals aged below 60 who have no health problems.
He said a request to the Technical Working Group has been made to lower the age of the second booster dose to 50, to allow more individuals to receive the booster shot.
"Unfortunately, people have been using travelling abroad as a loophole to receive their second booster dose.
"There are medical officers at the vaccination centres who allowed this for people who claimed they are travelling.
"It is better if we wait for the ministry's recommendation on the booster dose (for below 60) to better understand about the timing and efficacy of the booster doses," he said.
Khairy said an announcement on the matter is expected to be made in one to two weeks.