THE waning efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccines administered could be one of the possible reasons for the surge in cases in Sarawak, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said, adding that the government is studying the possibility of administering booster shots in the state.

“I have also asked the technical working group that advises on vaccines selection to quickly provide JKJAV (the Special Committee on Covid-19 Vaccine Supply) with recommendations on booster shots because we are not sure on what is driving the transmission in Sarawak,” he told a press conference today.

“One possibility is the waning effectiveness of the vaccines over time (which) we have seen in other countries.

“Other countries have started administering booster shots to the elderly, the immunocompromised, healthcare workers. We are certainly not ruling that out,” he added.

The report on booster shots is to be presented when the JKJAV meets next week, and the matter will then be discussed with the Sarawak government to determine the strategy forward.

Sarawak has also taken the proactive step to begin inoculating teenagers from yesterday to increase vaccination coverage among its population, Khairy said.

“Of course, testing, tracing and isolation will be very important in Sarawak right now because what is happening in Sarawak could happen in other states in a few months’ time, if it is because of the waning effects of the vaccine.

“We have to see what are the immediate measures that we can do to stop the increase in transmission in Sarawak and use that as a playbook for other states, which may encounter a similar situation.”

Sarawak’s seven-day average is 3,128 cases with an incidence rate of 106.17. Today, it reported another 3,100 cases.

The state has fully vaccinated 87.9% of its adult population and was one of the earliest states to ramp up vaccination.

Sarawak has been topping Covid-19 hotspot Selangor with more than 3,000 new infections in recent days. The east Malaysian state has been climbing above 2,000 cases daily since the end of August.

Taking Israel as a case point, which started to see a rise in cases after a few months despite having a high vaccination rate, Khairy said this suggests that the transmission could be due to the contagious Delta variant, the re-opening of the economy and the waning of vaccine efficacy.

He said he will be going to Sarawak soon to hold discussions with the state government on the steps to be taken to contain the spread of the virus. – September 9, 2021.