KUALA LUMPUR: As the government races against time to deliver the Covid-19 vaccine and braces for the possible fourth wave of infection, experts say the biggest hurdle so far could be misinformation and misconceptions that may have caused vaccine hesitancy among the people.
Professor Datuk Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman from Universiti Malaya said there had been doubts on the Covid-19 vaccine especially after news reports of healthcare workers infected with Covid-19 after completing the vaccination last week.
She said while no vaccine or treatment could offer total protection, statistics had shown that inoculation against the virus had been effective in lowering the number of Covid-19 infections.
"Less than one per cent of those vaccinated against Covid-19 were infected, with only nine healthcare workers infected after receiving their second dose of vaccination.
"A study in England made an observation on over 23,000 healthcare staff. Prior to the vaccination drive, 977 were infected by Covid-19, and the number dropped to 71 cases after the first dose was given.
"After the second dose, there were only nine infections. This is as good as it gets," she said in a Facebook live session held by Science Medical Centre Malaysia today, moderated by The Petri Dish editor-in-chief Dr Mahaletchumy Arujanan.
Dr Adeeba, who was recently appointed as a member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Science Council, said the benefits of Covid-19 vaccination greatly outweighed the risks.
In explaining the deadly virus, she said 80 per cent of Covid-19 patients suffered mild symptoms like fever and loss of smell and taste; 20 per cent suffered from lung inflammation and between five and 10 per cent of patients in category 4 or 5 needed breathing assistance.
"And out of the 80 per cent of the recovered patients with mild symptoms, we now know that 20 to 30 per cent suffer from long-haul Covid-19 symptoms including extreme fatigue, brain fog and breathing difficulty.
"All the more reason for us to be immunised, not only to prevent against severe symptoms but hopefully protect from the infection's long-term effects as well. It was reported that some healthcare workers in United States suffered from this and couldn't function due to long-haul Covid-19."
Apart from doubts cast on the Covid-19 vaccine, Dr Adeeba said health experts had also raised concerns on the rising number of Covid-19 cases and the possibility of having limited number of hospital beds for patients due to the rising cases.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had last week reported that 31 healthcare workers were infected less than two weeks of the second dose of inoculation, while another nine were infected more than two weeks after the second dose.
Meanwhile, medical pathology (microbiology and immunology) expert from Institute for Medical Research (IMR) Masita Arip, in addressing public concern on blood clots among those who have been inoculated against Covid-19, said such complications were also detected among patients.
Among the symptoms for blood clots are breathing difficulty, chest pain, swollen feet, severe and prolonged stomach pain, headache and blood spots on the skin, she said.
"A study in the United Kingdom revealed that only four in one million Covid-19 vaccine doses or 0.0004 per cent of people below 60 years have suffered from this. However, further studies are needed.
"Some people are not aware of the symptoms. If you notice them after being vaccinated, head to the Emergency Room immediately and please seek medical attention if you notice these symptoms as it can be treated," she said.
Dr Adeeba and Masitah agreed that while vaccination programmes were nothing new, Covid-19 has presented a different set of challenges due to the intensity of the inoculation and wide-spread availability of fake news, adding that other types of vaccines were more commonly given to children.
"Also, some people are less convinced with Covid-19 vaccines as their effectiveness are shown based on clinical trials and not at a population level. That is why we need to play our role so that we can achieve herd immunity, not only to protect ourselves, but our families and others," said Masitah.
Dr Adeeba said healthcare workers were working hard under the National Immunisation Programme and that setting vaccination appointments with some targeted 23 million population involved a complicated process.
"While I'm not directly involved with the process, I have learned about it from my colleagues. It will be utter chaos for logistics if everyone changes appointment or chooses the vaccine type to be administered.
Bear in mind, there are specific time gaps between the first and second dose.
"While waiting to be vaccinated, we must prevent infection by avoiding crowded places, among others prevention measures. At any social event with 10 or more people in confined area, there is possibility that the virus is present," she added.