The Malaysian Insight

VACCINATION has prevented severe Covid-19 infections in senior citizens because the number of Category 4 and 5 cases involving the elderly have been on the decline since early June, director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said.

According to Noor Hisham, data from the Sungai Buloh Hospital showed the number of Category 4 and 5 cases among those aged 60 and above has declined since the week beginning June 6.

The number of cases among people aged 60 and 79 declined from 172 on June 6 to 119 currently.

As for those aged above 80, there were no significant changes noted as the cases have been fluctuating between zero and three over the weeks.

“The decline is in line with the start of Phase 2 of the national Covid-19 immunisation programme, which started as early as April 2021 and the early signs of its efficacy have started to show since week commencing May 30,” he said.

Noor Hisham also advised Klang Valley and Selangor senior citizens aged 60 and above - and have yet to receive a vaccination appointment – to walk in to any vaccination centre for a jab.

He said vaccination centres will continue to operate throughout the week including on public holidays.

Meanwhile, in a separate post on Facebook, Noor Hisham said 3,465 of the 245,983 healthcare workers who have been vaccinated have since contracted Covid-19.

However, almost all instances were mild, about 67.2% or 2,327 of the cases were in Category 2 while 1,132 (37.6%) were in Category 1. Only three cases were reported in Categories 3 and 4.

“Vaccines save lives and we can learn live side by side with Covid-19,” he said.

There are five categories of Covid-19 infections: 1 is positive cases with no symptoms, 2 is positive cases with mild symptoms, 3 is positive cases with pneumonia.

A Category 4 Covid-19 infection refers to a patient suffering from symptoms of pneumonia and is given oxygen support, while a Category 5 patient share the same condition plus multi-organ failure. – July 19, 2021.