NOW that vaccination drives have been raised a notch, with over 400,000 vaccinations per day to achieve herd immunity, there are the naysayers who have raised concerns over the vaccination types administered to the people.
The three main vaccines types administered to the people are the Pfizer, AstraZeneca and the Sinovac vaccines.
The CanSino vaccine from China, which requires a single dose, is being administered to people living in the fringes of the forest and interior.
Since the vaccines come from different countries there have been contentions that certain vaccines are more effective and reliable, and trustworthy.
Pfizer was the first vaccine that was procured by our government and since supplies of the vaccine were limited, the government had to procure other vaccines from other countries so that we would not be left behind in the vaccination drive.
In the initial stages, many Malaysians were reluctant to be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine due to reports of people dying from blood clots in Scandinavian countries.
But later when the vaccine was open to the people in Selangor on a first come first served basis, it was snapped up within a few hours.
When the Sinovac vaccine shipment arrived from China there were a lot of doubts and prejudice over its efficacy and reliability. The Sinovac vaccine has an efficacy rate of about 50% to 65%.
Both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines have a efficacy rate of 80% to 90%.
Individuals have the right to refuse to be vaccinated with a particular vaccine if they are not comfortable with it. They would have to be referred to another centre at another date and time.
In my home state Negri Sembilan, some vaccination centres have Pfizer vaccines and some have Sinovac depending on which centres they are assigned to.
Some of my friends who were vaccinated with Pfizer boast about the vaccine’s efficacy and take pride they are better protected and a class above due to global recognition of the vaccine.
Though medical data showed that both Pfizer and Sinovac vaccines are equally effective against Covid 19, many are still on cloud nine with their Pfizer shots.
According to medical reports, the Sinovac vaccine was found to reduce Covid-19 infection by 65%, reduce hospitalisation by 87%, reduce intensive care unit admission by 90% and reduce deaths by 86%.
Medically, both the Pfizer and Sinovac vaccines are similar, and both are very effective at preventing severe disease and hospitalisation but less effective against mild or asymptomatic Covid-19 cases.
Hopefully, people are better informed and get their facts right before casting their fears and doubts on the different vaccines.
Have faith and believe that the vaccine will boost your immunity. Sometimes, it is all in the mind.
There is no guarantee that those who were vaccinated with Pfizer will not get Covid-19, even with the Sinovac vaccine.
More than 2,000 medical frontliners who were fully vaccinated with Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Sinovac contracted the virus. However, they were mostly in Stage 1 and Stage 2, with mild colds and fever.
So everyone is susceptible to the virus, irrespective of which vaccine you got.
The onus is on you to protect yourself and your loved ones by observing the standard operating procedures of wearing masks properly, washing and sanitising your hands frequently, avoiding closed, crowded and confined places, and not going out unnecessarily.
Being fully vaccinated does not give you the licence to be free because the virus is still out there.
Samuel Yesuiah
Seremban
