PETALING JAYA: Those aged 60 and above can receive a second Covid-19 vaccine booster dose voluntarily four to six months after their first booster, says Khairy Jamaluddin.
The Health Minister added that those aged between 18 and 59 could also receive a second booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine if they met certain criteria.
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"(Those) who are at clinical risk of severe disease such as chronic heart, lung, kidney, liver disease among others may be offered a second booster dose within four to six months after receiving a booster dose injection after discussing with a registered medical practitioner," he said.
Khairy added that those aged between 12 and 17 could also be offered a first booster dose after receiving the primary dose injection following discussion with a registered medical practitioner if they were at clinical risk of severe disease.
This includes chronic patients of heart, lung, kidney and liver disease, among others.
Khairy added on Thursday (May 12) that those who have completed receiving the primary dose of Covid-19 vaccine and followed by the first booster dose have been shown to have optimal protection against severe Covid-19 infection and death.
“However, due to waning immunity - especially to individuals in the vulnerable groups - the risk is still high for this group to get a severe infection, hospitalisation and subsequently possible death," said Khairy.
“The intake of this second booster dose vaccine is voluntary,” he added.
Meanwhile, Khairy said the antiviral drug Paxlovid has been used since April 15 to treat Covid-19 patients.
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“As of May 9, 2022, a total of 173 patients were given Paxlovid treatment and have fully recovered with no side effects reported," said Khairy.
He added that Paxlovid has been supplied for the treatment of Covid-19 patients at 512 Covid-19 Assessment Centres (CAC) in health clinics and 78 government hospitals.
“To date, the priority of Paxlovid treatment has been the high-risk group of Covid-19 patients with mild to moderate symptoms,” said Khairy.
He added that Covid 19-patients who will be prioritized include those who are aged 18 and up, patients in Categories 2 and 3 and those who do not require oxygen therapy.
Khairy said that other prioritized patients are those in high-risk groups who experience severe Covid-19 infection such as diabetic patients, patients with high blood pressure; those with kidney problems, asthma or chronic lung patients, heart patients and cancer patients.
“This medication should be started immediately within five days of the onset of symptoms for optimal effectiveness to reduce the risk of more severe infection complications," added Khairy.
“Covid-19 patients in the above-mentioned groups can attend the CAC at selected health clinics and government hospitals for suitability assessment before they can begin Paxlovid treatment,” he said.
Khairy said that the Health Ministry is committed to improving the people's access to medicines for the purpose of treatment or prevention of Covid-19 transmission by ensuring that it is properly evaluated based on aspects of quality, safety and effectiveness.
