-NSTP file pic, for illustration purpose only.
-NSTP file pic, for illustration purpose only.

THE people of Malaysia have stood up to help conquer the Covid-19 virus and daily case figures are declining slowly, but surely.

The health system is getting back on track and the media has predicted brighter days ahead for the economy, particularly local tourism.

In stark contrast, just a few months ago, the country was in the deadly grip of yet another devastating Covid-19 wave, surpassing 23,000 cases a day with record numbers of daily fatalities.

Hospitals and health workers were exhausted and stretched to the limit.

The remarkable efforts of our frontline health workers and Red Crescent volunteers in helping to bring Covid-19 under control and enabling movement control measures to be lifted must be celebrated.

However, the pandemic is far from over, even if Malaysia is fast approaching the point where over 80 per cent of its population are fully vaccinated.

Falling case numbers, a thriving economy and a fully vaccinated population do not mean we are safe from another surge.

Strategic, tactical efforts must be ramped up to provide the Covid-19 vaccine to everyone, including migrant communities and Malaysia's indigenous people, the Orang Asal.

Successful vaccination campaigns require governments to partner with and support community organisations, working with them on effective vaccine rollouts, according to a study earlier this year by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The Malaysian Red Crescent and health teams play a critical role. Recently, our teams have been inoculating people particularly in remote areas.

Huge efforts are going towards health workers and volunteers working closely with community associations and groups, including Vietnamese, Somalis, Cambodians, documented and undocumented migrants, as well as refugees, to help everyone gain access to life-saving vaccines.

Our volunteers and healthcare workers have been visiting and vaccinating people who have zero or very limited mobility and are confined to beds in their homes.

It is critical that we maintain the same intensity and pace of inoculation.

In recent weeks, many Malaysian Red Crescent volunteers have travelled to remote areas to help thousands of Orang Asal get vaccinated.

We face a growing risk of immunity in vaccinated people waning over time.

There is evidence that immunity against Covid-19 received from the vaccines might weaken over time, especially in high-risk individuals.

This increases the risk of further surges in infections and the rise of more variants, increased hospitalisations and deaths, particularly among people who are partially or not vaccinated.

Every eligible person needs to be fully vaccinated.

These vaccinations and ongoing public health measures, such as wearing face masks and physical distancing, particularly in crowded indoor areas, will be critical in the coming weeks and months.

We must stick to these measures, regardless of the country's reduced infection rates.

Maintaining the country's steady pace towards effectively containing the virus is also only possible if all countries in the region get their vaccination rates up to a critical mass.

Malaysia has been working well with its neighbours.

However there is still a lot more to do, as our closest neighbour, Thailand, has around one-half of its population fully vaccinated and Indonesia has just 30 per cent of its population fully vaccinated.

We need to be proactive in supporting our neighbours.

Greater efforts are needed to procure vaccines, supported by expertise in storage and inoculation, as well as general healthcare.

Covid-19 is indifferent to race, religion, ethnicity and nationality.

We must band together in traversing the last mile to help everyone get vaccinated in our region, so we can prevent further waves and get this virus under control for good.


The writer is the secretary-general of the Malaysian Red Crescent Society