PUTRAJAYA has agreed to administer a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in an effort to increase protection among vulnerable groups, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today. 
 
He said the third dose will help to increase the level of immunity in individuals who are at high risk of getting infected with the virus.
 
“High-risk groups will be given priority, such as frontliners, patients with low immune resistance (the immunocompromised), the elderly with comorbidities and individuals living or working in care centres (or long-term care facilities), when immunisation coverage of the adult population nationwide exceeds 80%. 
 
“This third dose can increase the level of immunity in individuals at high risk of getting infected with Covid-19, which may decrease after a certain period of time after the second dose,” the prime minister said in a statement today. 
 
Ismail said a panel of health specialists is developing guidelines for the implementation and administration of the third dose vaccine. 
  
Further details on the matter will be explained by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, said the prime minister.

Putrajaya’s decision to administer a third Covid-19 jab, otherwise known as a booster shot, comes after most nations reported new outbreaks driven by the Delta variant.

Singapore was the latest to join a number of other countries worldwide in giving a third jab to the most vulnerable groups.

The city-state kicked off a nationwide programme for the third coronavirus vaccine dose last Tuesday.

The number of cases in Malaysia has not been encouraging, with the country reporting daily cases in the five-figure range for more than two months now. – September 19, 2021.