Risk of infectivity only 0.003 per cent after second dose of COVID-19 vaccine - Khairy

PUTRAJAYA: The risk of COVID-19 infectivity among the frontliners who have received both doses of the vaccine jabs is at its lowest at just 0.003 per cent, said Coordinating Minister of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme Khairy Jamaluddin.

He said this showed the level of effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine, which means there is a better chance to either tackle the risk of infection and death or being admitted to the intensive care unit.

“If there are nine cases, namely those who tested positive for COVID-19 after receiving two doses of the vaccine jabs, not one of them suffered any severe or mild symptoms.

“They only tested positive for COVID-19. I think we can say that this vaccine is effective, with a low risk of infectivity,” he told a joint media conference with Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba on the latest development with regard to the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme here today.

The media had previously reported that nine healthcare workers contracted COVID-19 two weeks after receiving the second dose of the vaccine jab, while 31 other cases, also involving healthcare workers, were detected less than two weeks after getting the second dose of the COVID-19 jab.

However, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah was quoted as saying that all of them did not suffer any severe symptoms.

Khairy said that so far a total 272,019 frontliners had received the second dose of vaccine jabs which were given under phase one of the immunisation programme.

According to Dr Adham, all the nine healthcare workers who had received the second dose of the vaccine jabs did not know they were COVID-19 positive.

“When we tested, they were COVID-19 positive,” he said.

On the findings of the COVID-19 2.0 vaccine acceptance survey carried out from April 3-16, Dr Adham said 85 per cent of the 15,639 respondents were ready to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Only 10 per cent of the respondents said they were not sure whether or not to receive the vaccine while the other five per cent did not agree (to be vaccinated),” he said.

The survey, which was conducted online by the Ministry of Health, was aimed at identifying the people’s views regarding their acceptance and rejection of the COVID-19 vaccine as well as the factors that influenced their decisions.

-- BERNAMA