KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has advised individuals over the age of 60 and those with comorbidities to get their second Covid-19 booster shot.
Its president, Dr Koh Kar Chai, said the public should not be complacent with the Covid-19 infection.
"Many questions abound on whether one should still go for their booster shot and this is coming from those who have yet to get their first booster.
"Medical experts advise to get the first booster shot because it has been shown to reduce the severity of the disease and the chance of having to go to the hospital if one gets it," he said.
Dr Koh said the vaccines did not prevent people from getting the infection, but if one got infected, the symptoms would be less severe and there would be a lower risk of mortality.
"The science behind Covid-19 develops constantly as our experience grows and more data will be available as time goes by.
"There are those who are waiting for an Omicron-specific vaccine to be available as well as those who feel that the vaccines do not protect against getting infected with the variants BA.4 and BA.5," he said.
Dr Koh also stated that the virus was constantly evolving, so experts would have to deal with more new variants and there would be a never-ending effort to get a variant-specific vaccine out in time before a new variant surfaced.
"Those who are over the age of 60 as well as those with comorbidities are encouraged to get their second booster shots, which are available at clinics under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PPV GPs).
"Just go on to the MySejahtera app to book a slot or contact any nearby PPV GPs for an appointment."
Dr Koh said that those who had yet to get their first booster shots were advised to get the shots as the immunity gained from the first two doses would have waned by now.
"We are at the moment facing a high number of Covid-19 cases along with many influenza-like-illness (ILI) and it is best not to overload the healthcare system with these cases, which will deprive medical care for those who need it urgently."
