KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 21 — A vaccine is not only beneficial for protecting oneself but also others who are unable to take it, says Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia and former deputy Health director-general, Professor Datuk Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman.
He said some individuals were not allowed to take vaccine injections due to being allergic to certain substances.
“Some vaccines are developed for certain groups, for example, against Covid-19. So far, the clinical tests have only been conducted on adults and not on pregnant mothers. The latter cannot take the vaccine for the time being as there has been no related data on this group (pregnant mothers).
“However, if almost 90 per cent of the population have taken the vaccine, God willing…the 10 per cent who do not take the vaccine are also protected (against infection),” he said during the ‘Vaccine Dalam Kehidupan” (Vaccines in Life) programme produced by Nasional FM.
Dr Lokman Hakim said just like immunisation for children, the spread of a disease infection within the group could be controlled with vaccination.
He also said that each vaccine produced needed to go through the development phase stringently for the safety of the recipients.
According to him, conventional technology or technology used previously in developing other vaccines, could be used in producing the Covid-19 vaccine.
“We already know the process, know how to make vaccines such as for influenza, measles and hepatitis, so the industry is just to focus on the conventional technology and change the virus agent.
“Meaning, apart from using it for hepatitis, it can be used for Covid-19 with the existing technology. This is why vaccines can be produced fast,” he said.
Quoting a statement from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Lokman Hakim said although the vaccine’s effectiveness was only at 50 to 60 per cent, it would still be very useful in tackling the pandemic and reducing by half, the infection and death rates.
“This means the burden of the people and country can partly be reduced and the other part, by us together by following the new norms like adhering to the standard operating procedure (SOP) set.
He said the problem of the spread of Covid-19 was not due to community activities but the people’s behaviour during these activities.
“Therefore, it should be stressed upon the public that understanding and managing the risk is important to avoid infection,” he added.
— Bernama
