KHAIRY Jamaluddin thinks immunity from Covid-19 may no longer be achievable although mass inoculation against the virus is still a priority, Code Blue reports.

Khairy, in an online discussion on herd immunity last night, said Covid-19 will likely become an endemic but manageable disease.

The coordinating minister for the national immunisation programme said he had stopped using the term “herd immunity” and had also advised the prime minister to be careful about using it.

“I’ve advised the prime minister to be careful about using the term ‘herd immunity’ simply because my view… looking at the data and the science, is that this very well may be endemic and we may see Covid-19 remain with us in a less threatening form, but it will stay with us for some time,” he said in the forum hosted by the Oxford and Cambridge Society Malaysia.

Putrajaya previously set the goal of vaccinating 80% of the population to achieve herd immunity by the end of the year.

But now Khairy, who is science, technology and innovation minister, said Malaysia must fight the pandemic using other methods, such as making rapid test kits available for personal and daily use.

“I think we need to introduce that as part of our lives,” Khairy said.

He said Malaysia is in talks with Singapore about developing better testing kits while working with a Thai university to develop a mRNA vaccine. Malaysia is also negotiating with Pfizer for access to data on Covid vaccine and treatment clinical trials.

Khairy added he has come to realise that the government needs to invest more in pandemic preparedness to avoid “scrambling” and having to stand in queue for vaccines, especially if virus mutations become “aggressive and stubborn”.

Putrajaya is considering making Covid-19 booster jabs free for low- and middle-income earners while charging those who can afford to pay.

The government could also mix vaccine doses and administer the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as the second shot after a first AstraZeneca jab, following studies showing the higher efficacy of such a  method. – June 17, 2021.