Health DG urges M'sians to take booster jabs as China reopens borders

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah today reminded Malaysians, particularly frontliners and those in high-risk groups, to take a booster of the Covid-19 vaccine in light of China’s move to reopen its border on Jan 8, 2023. 

Taking to social media, he said Malaysians should be prepared even though new Covid-19 cases in the country decreased and are still under control.

“Looking at the latest developments in China, the Health Ministry would like to advise everyone to get a booster shot, especially the frontliners and high-risk groups,” he said.

He said on Twitter that the bivalent vaccine was expected to arrive by the end of next month and would be available through the MySejahtera app.

Concurring, DAP’s Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii said those who intend to travel to China are also encouraged to get booster shots or to postpone any non-essential travel.

“While I understand there is currently low uptake among the public but once they understand the urgency due to the situation in China, this may change and the government must be prepared. 

“The government should also consider the purchase of bivalent vaccine as an option, which may deal with some hesitancy among people,” he said in a statement today.

‘Consider Covid-19 requirements for travellers’

The government should take seriously “the current threat and surge of Covid-19 in China”, including making it a requirement for travellers from the country to be vaccinated and conduct an RT-PCR test at least two days before travel, he said.

“I believe our government should also consider some restrictions to prevent the rapid increase of infections in this country while balancing the economic need and livelihoods, especially for essential travels,” Yii said.

“This is important to better protect the people as well as prevent another crisis that may overwhelm our healthcare system.”

He cited how other countries, including Japan, the US, Italy, South Korea, and India imposed certain requirements for travellers from China especially after the World Health Organization (WHO) raised concerns about the ongoing Covid-19 surge in the country.

“Upon arrival, we can do routine RTK-Ag testing and those who test positive will be quarantined for seven days at designated facilities, and their samples will be used for genome analysis,” he said. 

“On a local level, crisis preparedness must be heightened and healthcare facilities and human resources around the country must be empowered in case of any eventuality. There must be clear data on ICU beds availability and Emergency Department contingency preparedness in case of a surge in cases,” Yii said. 

“The government must also further encourage the public to mask up, especially indoors and in highly congested areas. This is especially so in view of New Year celebration events that may cause a rise in cases locally. 

“I am not in favour of strict mask mandates where high fines are imposed, but the government must effectively communicate the importance of masking and preparing the public for any eventuality,” he said.

Allocating resources, enhancing preparedness

Yii said there also must be stocktaking of all antiviral medications for Covid-19 such as Paxlovid, Remdesivir, or Evusheld and allocate them to higher-risk areas, such as the entry points of health facilities.

He said the Health Ministry can perform comprehensive modelling as well to estimate how many patients may require these medications and make decisions on further procurements based on that data.

The Covid-19 Inter-Agency Taskforce must also be on standby for any eventuality in order to boost public health emergency preparedness, prevention, and response against current and ongoing health threats such as Covid-19, Yii added.

China citizens are reportedly rushing to book overseas travel after Beijing announced the reopening of the country’s borders and the abolishing of strict quarantine rules for inbound travellers by Jan 8, next year.

In a statement yesterday, Malaysia Inbound Tourism Association (Mita) president Uzaidi Udanis expected a million Chinese tourists may come to Malaysia next year.  

“Based on Tourism Malaysia data, around three million Chinese tourists arrived in 2019, so we expect a million Chinese tourists to visit Malaysia next year,” he was quoted as saying by The Star.

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