WHO should be among the first to receive Covid-19 vaccines? This is an issue hotly being debated worldwide, but medical experts unanimously agree that frontline health workers and high-risk groups should be given priority to receive the vaccines.
In giving his thumps-up to such priority, family doctor Datuk Dr Lai Kwong Choy said after all, the aim of vaccination is to protect high-risk groups, especially those at higher risk of dying from diseases.
âIf you look at other countries, more or less the same high-risk groups are given priority for the Covid-19 jab. First priority is given to medical frontliners, followed by senior citizens who are suffering from chronic diseases as these people are at increased risk of developing complications once they are infected with the coronovirus.â
In a China Press report published yesterday, Lai noted that people in their 40s and 50s accounted for the bulk of Covid-19 cases reported in Malaysia.
The highest death rate also occurred among people in this age bracket, he pointed out.
âIf you compare a 35-year-old with someone who is 75, who is at greater risk if both are infected with Covid-19? Surely the 75-year-old.
âTherefore, the vaccines should be given to them (senior citizens) first to reduce the risk of complications from the coronavirus.â
On the possible side effects from the vaccines for high-risk people who are suffering from chronic diseases, Lai said the overall, the benefits will outweigh the side effects.
âFor example, for bronchitis patients, we are worried that the vaccine might produce side effects. But to me, (although) side effects cannot be prevented, not all such patients would experience side effects.
âOverall, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages,â he said.
