BA.2 comprised 27% of SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences March 1-17; Malaysia sequenced only 0.3% of nearly 1.2 million Covid-19 cases reported from January to March 17, 2022.
Fine-tuning the Covid-19 National Task Force is all it takes to face the Omicron threat, protect health care services, prevent our HCWs from burnout, and minimise national morbidity and mortality.
The case involves a woman in Kuching with no recent travel history; separately, Indonesia reported Dec 23 three imported Omicron cases from Congo and Malaysia among Indonesian migrant workers.
Although the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) projects nearly 300,000 daily Covid-19 cases in Malaysia by end Jan, hospitalisation and deaths are expected to rise minimally, much lower than the Aug-Sept 2021 height of the epidemic.
Covid-19 vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic Omicron infection is estimated at between 0% and 20% after two doses, and between 55% and 80% after a booster dose.