The race has begun. Malaysia has joined other governments racing to supply their populations with Covid-19 booster shots.
Not to be wondered about, with the presence of the Omicron variant sinisterly lurking in our backyard. On Thursday, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced that all fully vaccinated individuals must get their booster doses by February or lose their vaccination status.
It comes as Omicron sparks fears of another surge in cases. Well and good. By now, most people are no longer fearful of vaccination. It's accepted that it has helped us move forward.
Economic sectors have reopened, traffic and crowd congestion are almost back to normal as more people and vehicles move about freely while, of course, adhering to the standard operating procedures. But how safe and normal can we expect things to be in the short and medium term when more Covid-19 variants are threatening to emerge? Today it is Omicron, tomorrow? The fluidity of the situation makes people nervous the world over. Hence, the call for speedier booster doses.
Herein lies several concerns. One, the period between the second dose and the booster shot. Two, the MySejahtera glitches. The first concern involves the vaccination period between the second and third dose. The deadline is February next year, but it is acknowledged that the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines have a longer period of safety cover.
What will happen to those who received their second dose in September or October? The booster shot is supposed to be six months after the second dose for Pfizer and AstraZeneca recipients and three months for Sinovac.
Up to Thursday, some 25 million Malaysians are fully vaccinated, while more than 400,000 have yet to receive their second dose. That's a large section of the population. This should be addressed soon to assuage public doubts. Otherwise, speculations will continue and conspiracy theories will abound.
MySejahtera glitches. A few letters to this newspaper highlighted some technical issues surrounding the app. One complained that MySejahtera did not reflect his fully vaccinated status, another said his wife's second vaccination record went missing, while another said his daughter was still waiting for her digital certificate, nine weeks after getting her second dose.
Still, another complained of the government's inconsistent stand on booster shots. It was previously reported that boosters would not be forced upon the people, but now the fully vaccinated could lose their status. Such fears are justified.
Covid-19 is relatively "new" and so are the vaccines. Decisions are made as more study results are received and based on experiences on the ground. The question now is, how do we overcome them?
On the other hand, after nearly two years of worry, it may just be our fear of the unknown that is stopping us from moving forward. From the start of the pandemic until now, we and the world have progressed much. We are now talking about achieving the endemic phase — living with the virus, much like the flu. The booster jab is just another road towards normalcy. We should acknowledge the challenges and tackle them as they come.
There should, however, be a fair and viable timeframe to implement the booster phase while simultaneously addressing the glitches. Surely, we don't want to return to the days of movement restrictions?