They say people should urge or convince their older relatives – whether parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents or neighbours – to get vaccinated.
They note that as at April 19, the start of the second phase of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, more than half of the targeted elderly population had not registered.
Only 1.44 million people aged 60 and above, out of the targeted 3.8 million, have registered for the vaccination, according to data from the health ministry.
Sungai Buloh Hospital consultant and infectious disease physician Dr Benedict Sim said it was worrying that few were working to ensure the elderly got vaccinated.
“My parents are elderly and I do understand the level of concern about the vaccine but I can’t imagine them getting Covid-19. The side effects from the vaccine have been mild. Not getting the vaccine is not a good idea,” he said during a webinar series on Covid-19 vaccine for healthcare workers.
Besides the age factor, an elderly person also tends to have diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, dementia or malignancy, which is a double whammy.
Severe illness meant that a person with Covid-19 might require hospitalisation, intensive care or a ventilator to help them breathe, said Hospital Kuala Lumpur head of geriatric unit Dr Rizah Mazzuin Razali in another webinar series on Covid-19: Vaccinating the Elderly and Those Under Palliative Care.
In the US where more than half a million had died, Rizah said, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had found that eight out of 10 Covid-19 deaths involved adults aged 65 and above
She pointed out that a New York Times analysis of federal data showed that Covid-19 hit some 31,000 long-term care facilities (LTCFs) in the US, killing more than 163,000 residents and employees and accounting for more than a third of all virus deaths since the late spring.
After vaccines were given to people in LTCFs from late December to early February, new cases and deaths in nursing homes had fallen steeply – by more than 80% – outpacing national declines.
“The Covid-19 vaccines are safe for the elderly and they should be inoculated. However, very frail elderly need to be clinically assessed before the vaccine is administered,” said Rizah.
Meanwhile, Hospital Selayang head of palliative care unit Dr Richard Lim, who was in the same webinar series as Rizah, said the terminally ill too could receive Covid-19 shots as long as their conditions were “stable”.
“Some may not want to be totally sheltered but to be able to do things that they want to fulfil in the time they still have (left),” he said.
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