Amidst the perturbing arrival of yet another COVID-19 wave in Malaysia, courtesy of the current Omicron variant, one particular epidemiologist, Secretary-General of the Malaysian Academy of Sciences, Prof Datuk Dr. Awang Bulgiba Awang Mahmud, has expressed confidence that it will likely subside by next month if the immunity of the country's population returns to optimal levels.

The immunity of Malaysians could be increased through the administration of large-scale booster doses until it covers 80% of the country's population, according to Prof Datuk Dr. Awang Bulgiba. Once the target is achieved, predictably, the Omicron wave will not affect the number of hospital admissions, intensive care units (ICUs), and COVID-related deaths, even as daily cases continue to multiply. Consequently, the number of daily cases will also likely decrease over time. 

"If the level of immunity of the country's population can generally be restored to optimum levels by the end of February, the rate of increase of these four indicators will not match the rate of new cases, and this wave of COVID-19 will not last long," he explained. 

On the importance of booster doses, Awang Bulgiba said it is one of the optimal solutions to ensuring that the public health service system will not be too badly affected during the Omicron wave period, thus curbing the virus from spreading rapidly.

According to him, the number of COVID-19 patients in categories three to five, as well as the low mortality rate at present, is mainly due to the high vaccination rate in Malaysia, with 97.9% of the adult population and 88.7% of teenagers aged 12 to 17 years being fully vaccinated.

The message here is clear: the Omicron wave is undeniably upon us, however, we are not entirely unarmed. If you have yet to receive your booster shot, there are several PPVs offering walk-ins that you could visit. As daily COVID-19 cases have been predicted to reach 15K soon, please do not neglect or refuse to do your part. 

Source: Berita Harian