The Malaysian Insight

HEALTH experts have downplayed the seriousness of the latest outbreak of Covid-19 in China, saying that the new strain of coronavirus does not cause severe symptoms or death to those who are vaccinated. 

Dr Chee Hui Yee, an associate professor in Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, however, encouraged people in high-risk groups – those with lower immunity levels and those involved in the travel, tourism, food, and hospitality industries – to take the Covid-19 booster shots if they had not done so.  

The virologist told The Malaysian Insight that the number of infections in the country could spike ahead of Chinese New Year. 

With China set to reopen its borders on Sunday despite its runaway coronavirus outbreak, health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had urged frontline staff and high-risk groups to get their booster shots as a precautionary measure. 

The call was well-founded as the data on the official website of the Health Ministry (MOH) showed the vaccination rate for the first booster dose as of January 1 was 49.9%, while the rate for the second booster dose was only 1.9%. 

Chee said no exception should be made for those in the travel and tourism industry. 

“Every one of them should get their protection strengthened. Not only those handling tourists from China. 

“Tourists from the west have not worn masks for a long time plus measures against the disease vary from one country to another. 

“A good protection is the best precaution,” she said. 

Chee said after three years of the epidemic, most Malaysians would avoid high-risk areas and would know when to don masks.

She believed that Malaysia’s vaccination uptake – combined with knowledge on how to deal with the epidemic and the availability of antiviral drug Paxlovid – would reduce the severity of serious cases and added that one’s basic immunity would be enough to ward off the new variant. 

The new strain, Omicron BF-7, had been detected in Malaysia since August or September last year.

Former deputy health minister Lee Boon Chye also agreed that people in high-risk groups should take the booster shot. 

“They need to take the fourth shot if they have problems with their immune system. The vaccination is to protect them from getting seriously ill, which could be fatal. 

“I believe there is still a significant ongoing effect after three doses of vaccination. However, a fourth dose will prevent further exposure to infection, but pathogenicity and mortality will not be greatly differentiated by the fourth dose.” 

The former Gopeng MP said that even if China reopened its border and Chinese tourists headed for Malaysia, it would not pose any major problem for the country. 

“There may be concerns whether new variants could be spawned in these travels. The fact remains that new variant viruses are bound to emerge anywhere,” said Lee, who used photocopying as an analogy. 

“If you use a photocopier to make 100 copies of something, a defective copy is bound to appear. It’s the same with viruses.” 

Lee said China should not be blamed for spawning a new variant of the virus. 

“Many countries can trigger a variant, including Malaysia. The variant could come from the US, Europe, Singapore, Thailand and there is no possibility of us sealing the country to isolate ourselves or keep people out of the country.” 

Lee said if the policy of isolation was a success, then the movement-control order that Malaysia put in place in March 2020 would have been reimposed to prevent the spread of the virus. 

“So there is no need for the public to be overly concerned at this stage.” 

However, Lee said the MOH must still be prepared for any eventuality. 

On the new variant, he said any country with high vaccination rates and adequate medical facilities to handle cases would not have a mortality rate of more than 0.05%. 

That, Lee added, is close to the “normal flu” mortality rate.

Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa had said that her ministry would continue to monitor the outbreak in China and would make changes to its policy to better manage the situation, which could include tightening health checks on arrivals from China at all entry points. 

She added that the MOH was in close contact with the World Health Organization, China, and Asean countries regarding the outbreak, and that consultations would be held from time to time. 

As the number of Covid-19 cases soars in China, some countries have expressed concern over its relaxed immigration policies. Italy, Japan, and India have tightened testing and entry regulations for travellers from China. – January 4, 2023.