COVID-19 Malaysia: Unvaccinated face 62x higher risk of death versus those who have received boosters

With the emergence of the new COVID-19 Omicron variant, the world is seeing a sharp surge of new cases which hits a new record high of more than 2 million new cases per day. Besides practising basic SOPs such as wearing face masks and social distancing, Malaysia is currently administering booster doses to individuals to ensure optimal protection against infections and to reduce the risk of hospitalisation and death due to COVID-19.

For those wondering if it is necessary to go for boosters, the Director of the Institute for Clinical Research (ICR), Dr Kalai Peariasamy has shared an infographic that reveals the risk of COVID-19 infection and death among the unvaccinated, fully vaccinated as well as individuals who have received boosted. Individuals who are unvaccinated have an 8.8x higher risk to get infected and a 61.7x higher risk to die due to COVID-19 compared to individuals who have gotten fully vaccinated with an additional booster shot.

Meanwhile, a person who has been fully vaccinated (1 or 2 dose vaccines) has a 3.4x higher risk to get infected and a 3.6x higher risk to die due to COVID compared to individuals who have been boosted.

The findings are derived from data published by the Ministry of Health on GitHub from 1st December 2021 to 6th January 2022. For a simplified view, you can also view the number of COVID-19 deaths and cases according to vaccination status on the COVIDNow dashboard.

Global daily COVID-19 cases now exceed 2 million

Although Malaysia’s daily COVID-19 cases have been hovering below the 4,000 mark and daily average deaths are below 30, we are still not out of the woods yet. Several developed nations including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia are experiencing a sharp surge in new cases, setting new record highs. The Malaysian government wants to avoid another lockdown and this can only be achieved if the authorities and the public adhere to strict SOPs while increasing the administration of booster shots. Conducting regular self-testing with rapid test kits also helps to manage the infections.

As shared by Khairy recently, it is projected that daily COVID-19 cases in Malaysia could increase to more than 30,000 per day if there are no control measures being introduced. Malaysia has already recorded over 200 Omicron cases which are mostly from travellers returning from Saudi Arabia.

The government has recently suspended Umrah travel arrangements after 1,306 travellers returning from Saudi Arabia were found positive and a total of 9 Umrah-related clusters were identified. In addition, the home quarantine option for individuals returning from Umrah has been suspended after it was found that some had breached their quarantine order and had infected their family members. All returnees must now complete their quarantine at designated hotels and centres.

The Health Ministry has also reported that 17 of the Omicron cases were unvaccinated which raises questions about the enforcement of SOPs by agents, airport authorities and airlines which should only permit fully vaccinated individuals to travel. Umrah agencies have expressed shock about the discovery as the requirements are very strict and Saudi Arabia requires individuals vaccinated with Pfizer or AstraZeneca to enter.

To increase the administration of boosters, more Mega PPVs will be opened soon and more eligible individuals should be getting their appointments in the coming weeks. Boosters under the National Immunisation Programme are offered for free and appointments will be pushed out automatically via MySejahtera or SMS. As of 8th January 2022, Malaysia has administered close to 7.7 million booster doses which cover 32.9% of the total adult population.

[ SOURCE, IMAGE SOURCE ]