PETALING JAYA: The national vaccination programme should prioritise getting as many people as possible vaccinated before giving booster shots, says Dr Mohd Ghows Mohd Azzam.

       The science adviser to the Science, Technology and Innovation Minister said in a series of tweets on Tuesday (Aug 10) that experts agree that the data for boosters is weak at the moment.

       "Do they work? Probably yes. Is it necessary now? Not yet. (The) priority should be given to unvaccinated people first. Get as many people vaccinated. Later, only when there is enough data and vaccines, booster shots," he said.

       Last month, Khairy Jamaluddin (pic) said that Malaysia started discussions with pharmaceutical companies on the possibility of securing Covid-19 booster shots as well as vaccines for children by next year.

       The Science, Technology and Innovation Minister said that even while discussions are ongoing, recommendations from local health experts concerning the need for a booster dose will be given next week.

       Mohd Ghows said giving a booster shot to increase the efficacy for someone who already has protection should not be prioritised over those who have zero protection “unless it is for extreme circumstances”.

       He added that although all vaccines show a reduction in antibodies, the memory B and T cells will still be there.

       "Scientists are looking at what is known as the correlate of protection (level of neutralising antibodies required)," said Mohd Ghows, adding that studies are being done on why antibody tests for the public are not recommended.

       The government had also advised the public against going for a Covid-19 antibody test as there is still no clinical guideline issued on the matter.

       On this, Khairy said that the guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration of the United States as well as other countries showed that the test is not recommended.