Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam – File photo
KUCHING (July 17): Malaysia should consider trial booster doses of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine to give greater confidence and protection to those already inoculated with the vaccine, said former health minister Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam.
In a Facebook post last night, Dr Subramaniam said these incidences of breakthrough infections in other countries have caused these nations to review their vaccination strategy.
He pointed out these nations have proposed mixing vaccines and giving booster doses to overcome the existing shortcomings of the Sinovac vaccine.
“Whilst I respect the government’s prudence in waiting for more data before mixing vaccines, the government could consider booster doses of Sinovac under trial conditions initially,” he said.
According to Dr Subramaniam, the government should be proactive in generating new knowledge as guidance to deal with new situations.
“This can give greater confidence and protection to those already vaccinated with Sinovac.
“Moreover, most of them did not have the opportunity to choose the type of vaccine given to them,” he said.
His statement was in response to an announcement by the government that the remaining Sinovac Covid-19 doses will only be used as a second dose for existing Sinovac recipients after which the government’s main Covid-19 vaccine will be from Pfizer-BioNTech.
The government said this was not a termination of the Sinovac vaccine and that it will still be available through the private market.
Subramaniam noted that the decision came at a time of growing concern around the efficacy of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine, particularly against the Delta variant which is becoming prevalent.
“Countries like Chile and Seychelles in the recent months have reported an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases despite having a very high vaccination rate (between 65-70 per cent of population).
“Incidentally, Sinovac was used extensively in Chile whilst Sinopharma was used in the Seychelles.
“Analysis has shown that Sinovac has only a 65 per cent efficacy against symptomatic infection in contrast to a 96 per cent and 92 per cent efficacy of Pfizer and AstraZeneca respectively,” he said.
Nonetheless, Subramaniam noted that Sinovac still had a respectable efficacy of 87 per cent in preventing hospitalisation and death.
“Recent data indicate that both Pfizer and AstraZeneca have shown good protection against hospitalisation and death for those infected with the Delta variant.
“Unfortunately, there isn’t much data available for the Sinovac vaccine and the scientific team behind Sinovac has suggested a third dose might be required to increase its efficacy against the Delta variant,” he said.