Flexibility for fully vaccinated individuals to be announced soon - Dr Adham

PUTRAJAYA: A certain flexibility for individuals who have completed two doses of COVID-19 vaccine will be announced soon, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.

"The announcement will be made soon," he said this, following Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's statement yesterday that the government was considering giving a certain leeway to individuals who have completed two doses of vaccine, including allowing them to dine at restaurants and to travel interdistrict and interstate.

Muhyiddin said that he had asked the Special Committee for Ensuring Access to COVID-19 Vaccine Supply (JKJAV) to re-evaluate the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to give flexibility to those who were fully vaccinated.

Dr Adham, in a virtual press conference on the development of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) with PICK Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin today, said that a total of 172 pregnant healthcare workers had been infected with COVID-19 and most were from categories 1 and 2.

He said that 51 individuals are in category 1, 117 are in category 2 and the remaining are in category 5.

COVID-19 category 1 patients are asymptomatic; category 2 have mild symptoms; category 3 covers patients with pneumonia; category 4, patients requiring oxygen and category 5, patients requiring respiratory assistance.

He also said that in the period from July 4 to 10, a total of 870 active clusters were detected nationwide, and the COVID-19 infectivity rate (Rt) recorded was at 1.13.

"The clusters that recorded an increase during the week are those related to workplaces, education and detention centres," he said.

In the meantime, he said a total of 19.0 responses per 1,000 doses of vaccine administered since the start of the PICK, regarding adverse events following immunisation (AEFI), were received through the Mysejahtera application.

Among the side effects reported were pain at the injection site, headache and fatigue, he said.

Based on the AEFI monitoring system of the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency, only 0.06 reports were received for every 1,000 doses of vaccine that were classified as serious and requiring further treatment and hospitalisation.

-- BERNAMA