GEORGE TOWN: Malaysia is still not completely out of the woods yet and needs to continue being cautious as far as Covid-19 is concerned, a virologist said.
Dr Kumitaa Theva Das of Universiti Sains Malaysia said except for Perlis, the country's Covid-19 cases and hospital admissions had been on a decline for over two weeks now.
However, she said globally, according to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Covid-19 weekly epidemiological update, cases had seen a slight increase in the Western Pacific Region (such as Japan, China and Korea) and the Americas, which meant that with year-end travel, there was a high possibility of imported cases.
"There has also been a slight increase in deaths in Kedah, Negri Sembilan and Kuala Lumpur. So, we are not completely out of the woods yet and need to practice caution," she told the New Straits Times.
Dr Kumitaa, a geneticist with USM's Infectomics Cluster, Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, said there were four main strains of Covid-19 that Malaysia should be cautious about - BA.5 (about 14 per cent), BA.2.75 (about 25 per cent), XBB (about 60 per cent) and BQ.1 (about two per cent).
She said, so far, BQ.1 had been detected in Kedah, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka, Sabah, Sarawak and Selangor.
According to her, a new strain of Covid-19 that Malaysia should also pay attention to is BN.1 (about 13 per cent), which was recently detected in some 30 countries.
BN.1 has been detected in all states in Malaysia except Perlis.
"All five strains are circulating in Malaysia and have an increased immune escape capability. In simple terms, these strains are able to evade immunity from vaccination or previous infections.
"Several studies have shown that XBB and BQ.1 are better at evading immunity from vaccination and infection than earlier versions of the virus.
"Despite that, young and healthy people who took booster shots should still be protected even against the most immune evasive variants, though not at an optimal level. There was only a slight decline in protection seen with BQ.1, but a larger decline in protection against XBB.
"These subvariants, however, will pose more of a threat to the high-risk group such as the elderly, and those who are immunocompromised. So, the latter group can consider getting the Omicron booster (the Bivalent vaccine), or practising extra caution such as masking during this festive season," she added.
Meanwhile, Dr Kumitaa said in countries that have winters, are currently facing a tripledemic -- Covid, flu and respiratory infection RSV, primarily because flu outbreaks tend to peak during colder months such as winter.
However, she pointed out, in tropical countries like Malaysia, outbreaks happened year-round.
She added that there were fewer cases during the pandemic when people were masked up.
"But now that Covid-19 restrictions have been relaxed, and with the year-end holidays, there will most likely be an increase in flu cases.
"Unlike the high vaccination rate against Covid-19, the vaccination rate for flu in Malaysia is only about three per cent. Though commonly mistaken for the common cold, the flu can result in severe symptoms and even death.
"And though there seems to be a misconception that flu vaccination is only for kids, it is recommended for everyone," she said.
Elaborating, she said while many co-related mask-wearing to the prevention of Covid-19, it also protected against other respiratory illnesses, including the flu.
She said while wearing a mask now was mostly optional, it remained the quickest, easiest and cheapest method to protect oneself against certain viruses.
"Even if we don't wear a mask all the time, it might still be good to wear one in extremely crowded places, if you're in a location which does not have good ventilation or if you're in the presence of those with flu-like symptoms.
"We can always carry a mask with us in our pockets or bag so we have one on hand at all times. It will give you peace of mind throughout the year-end break, even when meeting an elderly family member," she said.