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Showing posts with label vaccination. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vaccination. Show all posts

Monday, December 18, 2023

Protect yourself and your community from disease; Remember to wash your hands

Getting vaccinated is not just about ensuring you don’t fall ill, but also about saving those around you from getting sick.


— Graphics: Positive Parenting This is how an infectious disease with an r-naught of four spreads from one patient.

herd immunity




VACCINATION directly protects individuals who are vaccinated against certain infections, but it can also provide indirect protection to the unvaccinated in a population.

This is what we call herd immunity or community immunity. It is a key aspect of epidemic control.

To understand herd immunity, we need to be familiar with certain terms.

Firstly, we have to know the infectiousness of a disease, indicated by its basic reproduction number (R-naught or R0).

This can be defined as the expected number of new infections generated by one infectious individual in a fully vulnerable population without any control measures.

For example, an infectious disease with an R-naught of four means that one case is expected to generate four other cases.

The higher the R-naught, the more infectious the disease is.

Each infectious disease has its own R-naught and it may vary across populations and over time, depending on various factors.

The R-naught in turn determines the herd immunity threshold (HIT), which is the minimum level of vaccination coverage or minimum number of immune individuals in a population that must be achieved to produce herd immunity against a certain infection.

An easy way to calculate HIT is by using this equation: HIT = 1 – 1/R-naught.

Hence, to achieve herd immunity against a disease with R-naught of four, at least 3/4 or 75% of the population have to be immunised.

This calculation assumes that susceptible and infectious individuals in a population are equally in contact with one another and spread the infection in the same way.

From this, we can deduce that the more infectious the disease, the higher the R-naught, and thus, the higher the HIT, and the more the people that need to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity in a population.

When enough people are vaccinated against a particular disease, they will be able to ‘protect’ those who are unable to be vaccinated from those who are infected.

For optimal benefit


Various other factors play crucial roles to ensure that optimal herd immunity can be achieved via vaccination.

They include:

> High vaccine effectiveness


This is key to attaining optimal herd immunity.

Vaccine effectiveness varies between different populations and regions.

However, not all vaccines stimulate lifelong immunity and this may decrease herd immunity over time.

The effect of waning immunity can be mitigated by increasing vaccination coverage or taking booster shots. >

Reduced transmission potential (or force of infection)

Vaccination efforts need to target the main reservoir of infection, i.e. groups who are most likely to get and spread the infection.

Low vaccine coverage among these groups may compromise herd immunity, even though overall coverage is high.

This also depends on the route of transmission of the pathogen.

> Appropriate vaccine uptake

Optimal herd immunity is more likely to be achieved when vaccine coverage is at the higher end of the HIT.

Another important factor is appropriate distribution patterns.

This can be achieved by targeting those who are highly exposed to the infection (e.g. healthcare workers) and vulnerable populations (e.g. infants and the elderly).

The timeliness in receiving the vaccine also impacts the effectiveness of the vaccination programme, and thus, herd immunity.

For example, in the United Kingdom, the occurrence of invasive pneumococcal disease in unvaccinated adults aged over 65 years has been reduced by 81% after the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) was included as part of routine immunisation for infants under two years old.

Protecting the vulnerable

The best-case scenario is to have 100% vaccine effectiveness and coverage, but the reality is far from perfect.

No vaccine is 100% effective, and there are people who cannot get vaccinated or do not elicit strong immune responses from vaccines.

These include newborns, people allergic to certain vaccines, people with weakened or failing immune systems, or elderly with chronic diseases.

This is where herd immunity comes into play, providing indirect protection to these groups.

Optimal herd immunity via vaccination also counteracts waning immunity.

Protection with certain vaccines can diminish with time, e.g. pertussis vaccination starts to weaken after two years.

Thus, people with waning immunity are exposed to infection unless herd immunity is strong and vaccine uptake is sustained.

Apart from the vulnerable population, the following groups of people should also get vaccinated:

> Families and close contacts of those considered as vulnerable

> Caregivers of children, elderly

and sick patients > Healthcare or hospital workers.

When you get yourself vaccinated, you’re not only protecting yourself, but also your loved ones and other vulnerable individuals in the population.

As you can see now, vaccination is crucial and the safest way to achieve optimal herd immunity!


 Datuk Dr Musa Mohd  a paediatrician and Universiti Putra Malaysia lecturer. Datuk Dr Musa Mohd Nordin is a consultant paediatrician and neonatologist. This article is courtesy of the Malaysian Paediatric Association’s Positive Parenting programme in collaboration with expert partners. For further information, please email starhealth@thestar.com.my. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only, and it should not be construed as personal medical advice. Information published in this article is not intended to replace, supplant or augment a consultation with a health professional regarding the reader’s own medical care. The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this column. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.

The Star Malaysia17 Dec 2023By Dr HUSNA MUSA and Datuk Dr MUSA MOHD NORDIN
By Dr HUSNA MUSA and Datuk Dr MUSA MOHD NORDIN

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/12/17/remember-to-wash-your-hands

Thursday, September 9, 2021

Record covid-19 new cases and deaths in Penang, Malaysia 19,733 new cases (Sep 8)

 
 

Penang (2,474) reached a new record Sspt 8, 2021. Hospitalisation of Covid-19 patients has also been trending up, despite 49.4 percent of its population being vaccinated. [see vaccination chart below]



Hospital bed use for Covid-19 patients in Penang has reached 109 percent - the highest in the country - while intensive care bed use is 93.2 percent. [see hospitalisation chart below]


In Sarawak (3,100), the authorities said 99.87 percent of new cases involved patients in Category 1 or 2 (no symptoms or mild symptoms). However, Health Ministry data shows that hospitalisation is still on a 14-day uptrend.

Hospital bed use by Covid-19 patients Negeri Sembilan has dropped 70.9 percent since peaking on July 31.

As of yesterday, the R-naught for the country is 0.95. A R-naught of less than 1.00 suggests that the spread of Covid-19 was slowing down.

The R-naught for the Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Negeri Sembilan have all fallen below 0.90.

Regions where the R-naught is more than 1.00 are Pahang, Perak, Terengganu, Sarawak, Perlis and Penang, Malacca and Johor.

The number of active cases have continued trend downwards today the intensive care bed use is dropping slowly over the past month.

Active cases: 248,673 

Patients in ICU: 904* 

Intubated: 430*

[Does not include patients classified as 'probable'.]




New cases by states


Sarawak (3,100) Selangor (2,989) Penang (2,474) Sabah (2,067) Johor (1,867) Kedah (1,564) Kelantan (1,471) Perak (1,319) Terengganu (904) Pahang (700) Kuala Lumpur (537) Malacca (375) Negeri Sembilan (256) Perlis (74) Putrajaya (29) Labuan (7)

Deaths

The Health Ministry reported another 361 deaths attributed to Covid-19 today, bringing the national death toll to 19,163.

There were 102 patients who were pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital of which a quarter were reported in Sabah alone.

Selangor (67) reported the highest number of deaths followed by Johor (65), Sabah (54), Kedah (51), Kuala Lumpur (34), Negeri Sembilan (29), Kelantan (17), Sarawak (10), Terengganu (9), Malacca (8), Perak (6), Penang (5), Pahang (4) and Perlis (2).



Clusters

The Health Ministry is currently monitoring 1,459 active Covid-19 clusters.

Another 35 new clusters were classified today of which 20 involved workplaces.

Industri Jalan Nuri cluster

 Category: Workplace State(s): Selangor District(s): Kuala Langat Total infected: 79 out of 122 screened

Tapak Bina Persiaran Elmina cluster
 

Category: Workplace State(s): Selangor District(s): Petaling Total infected: 67 out of 129 screened

Industri Dua Jalan Anggerik Mokara 47 cluster  

Category: Workplace State(s): Selangor District(s): Klang Total infected: 50 out of 167 screened

Industri Dua Jalan Bandar Lama cluster 

 Category: Workplace State(s): Selangor District(s): Kuala Langat and Klang Total infected: 30 out of 36 screened

Tapak Bina Persiaran Laman View cluster  

Category: Workplace State(s): Selangor District(s): Sepang Total infected: 20 out of 69 screened

Tapak Bina Jalan Elegan cluster  

Category: Workplace State(s): Selangor District(s): Sepang Total infected: 12 out of 92 screened

Pasar Matu cluster 

 Category: Workplace State(s): Sarawak District(s): Matu Total infected: 29 out of 121 screened

Tapak Bina Jalan Tasek Mutiara Tujuh cluster  

Category: Workplace State(s): Penang District(s): Seberang Perai Selatan Total infected: 123 out of 518 screened

Tapak Bina Jalan Kubang Menerong cluster 

 Category: Workplace State(s): Penang District(s): Seberang Perai Utara and Seberang Perai Tengah Total infected: 81 out of 290 screened

Jalan Mayang Pasir Tiga cluster 

Category: Workplace State(s): Penang District(s): Barat Daya and Timur Laut Total infected: 46 out of 468 screened

Zon Industri Bebas Tiga cluster 

Category: Workplace State(s): Penang District(s): Barat Daya Total infected: 21 out of 283 screened

Tapak Bina Jalan Tengku Azizah cluster 

Category: Workplace State(s): Johor District(s): Johor Bahru Total infected: 56 out of 235 screened

Industri Jalan Gangsa Kulai cluster 

Category: Workplace State(s): Johor District(s): Kulai Total infected: 18 out of 230 screened

Industri Jalan Johor Ayer Hitam cluster 

Category: Workplace State(s): Johor District(s): Batu Pahat Total infected: 15 out of 656 screened

Dah Tapak Bina Patani cluster 

Category: Workplace State(s): Kedah District(s): Kuala Muda Total infected: 54 out of 226 screened

Dah Empat Industri Sungai Petani cluster 

Category: Workplace State(s): Kedah District(s): Kuala Muda Total infected: 51 out of 117 screened

Industri Persiaran Pengkalan 32 cluster  

Category: Workplace State(s): Perak District(s): Kinta Total infected: 35 out of 120 screened

Semambu Empat cluster 

Category: Workplace State(s): Pahang District(s): Kuantan Total infected: 29 out of 55 screened

Ladang Jalan Bahau Rompin cluster  

Category: Workplace State(s): Negeri Sembilan District(s): Jempol Total infected: 75 out of 336 screened

Jalan PBR 12 cluster 

Category: Workplace State(s): Malacca District(s): Melaka Tengah Total infected: 25 out of 90 screened

Jalan Kubang Golok Merabang cluster 

Category: Community State(s): Kelantan District(s): Bachok Total infected: 20 out of 36 screened

Kampung Gong Manak cluster 

Category: Community State(s): Kelantan District(s): Pasir Puteh Total infected: 15 out of 18 screened

Jalan Kubang Kacang cluster 

Category: Community State(s): Kelantan District(s): Kota Bharu Total infected: 14 out of 23 screened

Kampung Kedap cluster 

Category: Community State(s): Kelantan District(s): Pasir Mas, Machang and Kota Bharu Total infected: 14 out of 26 screened

Kampung Kuala Besar cluster  

Category: Community State(s): Kelantan District(s): Kota Bharu Total infected: 9 out of 17 screened

Lorong Pasir Lada cluster 

Category: Community State(s): Kelantan District(s): Kota Bharu Total infected: 9 out of 15 screened

Lorong Madrasah cluster  

Category: Community State(s): Kelantan District(s): Pasir Mas Total infected: 9 out of 13 screened

Lorong Penggawa Yahya cluster  

Category: Community State(s): Kelantan District(s): Pasir Mas Total infected: 5 out of 6 screened

Jalan Sutera Bakar Batu cluster  

Category: Community State(s): Johor District(s): Johor Bahru Total infected: 116 out of 193 screened

Sungai Tekam Jerantut cluster 

 Category: Community State(s): Pahang District(s): Jerantut Total infected: 27 out of 82 screened

Lemujan cluster  

Category: Community State(s): Sarawak District(s): Pakan Total infected: 38 out of 42 screened

Jalan Chemor Estate cluster 

Category: High-risk group State(s): Perak District(s): Kinta Total infected: 75 out of 97 screened

Kampung Ayer Papan cluster  

Category: High-risk group State(s): Perak District(s): Kinta Total infected: 13 out of 31 screened

Jalan SP 5/4 cluster 

Category: Non-Education Ministry institution State(s): Selangor District(s): Kuala Langat Total infected: 17 out of 118 screened

Jalan Scientex 20 cluster
 

Category: Institusi Pendidikan Swasta Berdaftar di Bawah KPM State(s): Johor District(s): Kulai Total infected: 11 out of 48 screened

  Source link



Not yet a failed state, Malaysia is decaying rapidly - Nikkei Asia


Not yet a failed state, Malaysia is decaying rapidly - Nikkei Asia

 

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Monday, February 22, 2021

Covid-19 vaccines are here. Here's what you need to know to begin vaccination Feb 24, 2021

 

A nurse simulating giving a vaccine jab to a volunteer during the exercise at the Serian community hall. Ñ ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE/The Star

 


PETALING JAYA: With the arrival of the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines in Malaysia, many are eager to know what happens next and when they can get their shots.

To date, the country has bought 66.7mil doses of vaccines from five Covid-19 vaccine producers, enough to vaccinate 109.65% of Malaysia's population.

The vaccination is voluntary and will be provided free of charge to everyone living in Malaysia, including non-citizens.

The vaccine will only be offered to people aged 18 years and above, though this will be re-evaluated if needed.

Here are other key details about Malaysia's National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme:

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine obtained conditional approval from the Drug Control Authority (DCA) and the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) on Jan 8, 2021.

The remaining four Covid-19 vaccine candidates are still pending approval from the NPRA.

The vaccines from these five suppliers will be received in stages by Malaysia from February 2021, subject to NPRA approval.

Take the quiz below to know when you can expect to receive your vaccine:

Flourish logoA Flourish data visualization

You can register starting March 1, 2021 to receive the vaccine.

There will be five ways to register, namely through:

How old are you?

Choose 1 of the following

* The MySejahtera application

* A hotline that will be launched soon

* An outreach programme for rural and interior areas

* www.vaksincovid.gov.my

* Registration at public and private health facilities

Appointment details such as dates and vaccination centre will be provided via the MySejahtera application, phone calls or SMS.

Vaccination feature appears in MySejahtera app | The Star



Source link: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/02/21/interactive-covid-19-vaccines-are-here-here039s-what-you-need-to-know

Related:

Khairy: China-made vaccine to arrive on Feb 27 | The Star
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/02/20/khairy-china-made-vaccine-to-arrive-on-feb-27

Vaccination to begin Feb 24 | The Star
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/02/22/vaccination-to-begin-feb-24

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https://rightwayspro.blogspot.com/2021/02/convincing-non-believers-for-vaccination.html

Sunday, February 21, 2021

Convincing the non-believers for vaccination


With the Covid-19 vaccine rollout starting soon, the onus is on the government to engage the fence sitters.


RECENT news that Indonesia has made Covid-19 vaccination for its citizens compulsory has given rise to speculation that Malaysia could follow suit.

With the National Covid-19 Immunisation Plan around the corner, the government machinery has swung into gear to convince the people that vaccination is the only way out of this pandemic that has imprisoned our lives.

The government has already hinted of fines for those who decline the vaccine and there is also a possibility that individuals who reject the vaccination could have their movements restricted. This means that they will be barred from entering business premises or restaurants.

While there are no plans at this time to draw up legislation to make it compulsory for everyone to be vaccinated, the sledgehammer approach may not be as effective as we think.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) believes that making vaccines compulsory is counter-productive, as it will increase vaccine hesitancy that is already present.

I believe that Malaysians can be divided into three categories: proponents of the vaccine, anti-vaxxers and the fence sitters, people who though unopposed to taking the vaccine, are yet to be convinced that vaccination is essential for herd immunity.

It will be nigh on impossible for the government to convince the anti-vaxxer movement. They may be small in number, but these fellow Malaysians, like others around the world, are dead set against the vaccination plan.

In fact, some of these anti-vaxxers are also Covid-19 deniers. They believe that the pandemic is a conspiracy that has been exaggerated by the media and that Covid-19 is a hoax.

So no amount of cajoling or threats are going to make them change their minds. It is the third category that the government should focus on – Malaysians who are wary or unsure of taking the vaccine.

There needs to be a massive public relations drive to reach these fence sitters. From vaccine safety issues to side effects, from registration protocols to logistical challenges, the government needs to address the concerns of this segment of the populace. Public education is going to be key, not harsh fines, penalties and sanctions.

And it should not only be government agencies that embark on this blitz. Key opinion leaders, influencers and NGOs should be roped in to assist in this, our biggest ever immunisation programme.

Of crucial importance is getting the vaccination message across to the rural areas and not just our urban centres.

The government made the right move by also allowing free vaccinations for foreign workers. There must now be a concerted effort to get undocumented foreign workers to also come forward to receive vaccines. There could be as many as a million undocumented workers in the country, and if they are not vaccinated, our objective of reaching herd immunity will not come to fruition.

It should be pointed out that we will not be taking shortcuts to achieving herd immunity.

The Pfizer vaccine that will arrive on Sunday requires two doses, 21 days apart. Even though other countries have spaced this out to as much as eight weeks, thereby vaccinating a greater number of people, Malaysian authorities have already confirmed that they will stick to the manufacturer’s recommended dosage.

But in the race to vaccinate its populations, we are already behind many countries.

For example, more than 15 million people in the United Kingdom have already received their dose. This works out to almost 24 doses per 100 residents.

In the United States it’s 16 doses per 100 and in the European Union as at mid February it is five doses per 100 residents.

Surprisingly France, which has one of the best public healthcare systems in the world, has been slow to administer vaccines to its population. This could be because of the strong anti-vaccine sentiment in the country.

A poll last year revealed that only 54% of French were willing to be immunised.

So, that should be a concern for our government too. We need to do our best to combat anti-vaccine propaganda because we have no time to lose.

As more of the world is vaccinated, travel bubbles will open up. Soon travellers will be required to show a digital health passport, possibly via an app on your phone that proves you have been vaccinated.

This may be the only way travel restrictions will be lifted.

As more companies roll out vaccinations, Covid-19 doses will eventually become as common as a flu shot. That is a reality that Malaysians must expect and embrace.

 Source link

 

Related:

 

'Vaccine is safe for all ages' | The Star


 

 

 

Let’s stick to SOP as vaccination goes on

 

Chinese vaccines rise above scepticism, hostility | The Star

First in EU: Menczer with Chinese Ambassador to Hungary Qi Dayu welcoming the arrival of China’s Sinopharm vaccine at Liszt Ferenc International Airport in Hungary on Feb 16. — Xinhua

 

 

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