The 18 probable Omicron cases are unrelated to the imported Omicron infection in an eight-year-old girl who arrived in Malaysia on Dec 5 from Nigeria via a Doha transit.
WHO Western Pacific regional director Dr Takeshi Kasai received a presentation at MOH’s Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC) about Malaysia’s new Heightened Alert System.
The South Africa study shows a 41-fold drop in Pfizer vaccine’s neutralisation of Omicron, but considerable protection is retained in those who were both double vaccinated and previously infected with Covid-19.
A preliminary study on the Omicron outbreak in Tshwane district in Gauteng, South Africa, shows a spike in coronavirus infections, but 70% of currently warded Covid-19 patients did not require oxygen support.
UK’s SAGE says even if vaccination (including boosters) can prevent severe disease from Omicron, any significant reduction in protection against infection can result in a huge wave of infections that will subsequently lead to a spike in hospitalisations.
Khairy Jamaluddin says Malaysia’s current travel restrictions on southern African countries are “precautionary” and are not intended “to punish” them for alerting the world of the Omicron Covid-19 variant.
IAS head Adeeba Kamarulzaman calls for an international code of conduct to guide countries’ responses to new variants, describing travel bans as “political posturing”.
The UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) says Pfizer or Moderna is a preferred Covid-19 booster, regardless of the vaccine type in primary vaccination.