When asked whether the fasting month would cause the vaccination and booster drive to slow down, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin quipped, "Oh, there's no way it could get slower than it already is now!"
Despite the government's threat that all adult recipients of the Sinovac or Sinopharm vaccine, as well as those aged above 60 who had not got their booster shot by March 31 would lose their fully-vaccinated status today, the urgency doesn't seem to have filtered down.
While Malaysia has been extremely successful in getting almost all adults to complete their primary doses, MyCovidNow figures up to Wednesday show that only 67 per cent of adults have got their booster dose.
Public health analysts surmise that many refuse to get boosted because they fear experiencing adverse effects following inoculation (AEFI) again. With that many adults still not boosted by the deadline, the government would potentially have faced a mutiny come April 1, when it would have had to lock people out of all public areas.
But, as it turns out, this was all a big game of "chicken", and the government appears to have swerved first. At the very last minute, the health minister announced that everyone would still be allowed to enter public places, provided that they had completed their primary dose.
The minister explained that adults who have not yet been boosted can still enter business premises, dine in at restaurants, go into shopping malls, workplaces, and houses of worship. But, they can only do so if they have completed their primary vaccination (plus 14 days' efficacy buffer after the second shot).
The minister says primary vaccination history will be retained in the app. And the onus of checking that they fulfil this condition rests with the premises' owners. But, how will they do that? With the "Fully Vaccinated" status removed, what will replace it for people who have not been boosted? Will it be just "Vaccinated", or "Primary Vaccinated"?
If it is none of these, is it the government's expectation that premises' owners scrutinise each visitor/patron's vaccination record and factor in the 14 days as well? That will never work!
It is understandable that the government has to amend its plans, because locking so many adults out of business and social premises runs counter to the whole idea of transitioning to endemicity. In addition, the public mood is least forgiving this week, with the entire nation concerned about the ownership of the MySejahtera app, and the security and privacy of its user data.
Perhaps in response to this controversy, the Health Ministry says it is mulling doing away with check-ins altogether if the situation stabilises once the country has opened up. So, with exception of those who want to go abroad for holiday or work, the MySejahtera app and the fully-vaccinated status will be of little significance to most people.
But, that does not mean that people should relax and not get their booster shots. Government-imposed mandates aside, the Covid-19 virus is still here, and still robbing people of their health, lives and loved ones. The whole point of force-encouraging people to get boosted is to ensure everyone's immunity is up to date.
But, there's only so much pushing the government can do. So, do we, the people, realise that from now on, it really will be all down to us?