PETALING JAYA: Covid-19 vaccine booster shots should be prepared to be given to healthcare personnel, says the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM).

       Its president Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh urged the Special Committee on Covid-19 Vaccine Supply (JKJAV) to start planning for the provision of booster jabs for medical staff.

       “APHM would like to propose to JKJAV that it would be important to start planning booster Covid-19 vaccine doses for public and private healthcare workers as soon as we reach a reasonable percentage of fully-vaccinated population.

       “The first batch of fully-vaccinated healthcare workers should have completed (their vaccination regime for) six months in September,” he said in a press statement Thursday (Aug 26).

       He added that there were worries surrounding the emergence of new Covid-19 variants in the region and globally, which may lead to healthcare workers suffering complications as the initial protection from the first dose wanes.

       “It would be prudent to study the efficacy and potential immunity outcomes of booster doses of vaccines and also the science of using heterologous boosters, which may be effective against different mutations,” he said.

       (Heterologous vaccination refers to mixing Covid-19 vaccines.)

       Dr Kuljit said the private healthcare sector was happy to find a suitable means of carrying out booster vaccination shots for their workers, including general practitioners.

       “The government should now initiate discussions with private healthcare stakeholders to work out mechanisms in getting the booster doses rolled out once formal approvals are attained from the regulatory authorities.

       “Once the healthcare workers are sufficiently protected after the proposed booster doses of vaccine, it will be time for the early batches of the fully vaccinated public, particularly the vulnerable, to receive their additional doses.

       “However, this will be based on the acceptability of published evidence on booster doses as many countries have already commenced this exercise,” he said.

       Currently, the country has fully vaccinated 59.1% of its adult population.

       However, adult vaccination rates are still lagging in certain states such as Sabah (33.8%), Kedah (40.2%) and Kelantan (40.8%).