Former deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said the main reason is that Malaysia is still far behind in terms of the vaccination rate when compared to the United States.
He was referring to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) announcement on Thursday that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks outdoors and also need not observe physical distancing in most places.
Lee, who is a cardiologist, said while a vaccine protects a person against severe illness or death, it does not prevent him or her from getting infected.
“But more importantly, if you are vaccinated and you’re infected, you can still transmit the virus,” he told FMT.
However, he acknowledged that the transmission rate would be reduced.
“So if you start allowing people to not wear masks, then there will always be a risk of ongoing infection in the community,” the Gopeng MP said, expressing his concern that those who are vaccinated would take their foot off the pedal.
“We don’t know what will happen. So it is best we see what happens in the US, before even considering such a move.”
Dr Sibrandes Poppema, the president of Sunway University, said as long as the vaccination drive has not been completed, he would strongly advise against such a policy.
Poppema, a specialist in immunopathology, said although the risk of the virus being spread by vaccinated individuals to non-vaccinated individuals is low, “it is not impossible”.
“There was also the risk that those who are not vaccinated would also see no need to wear masks if they see people who have received the vaccine not wearing masks,” he said.
“I would advise for all, including the vaccinated, to keep wearing their masks, since this is by far the most effective prevention until a large majority of the population has been protected by the vaccine.”
Infectious diseases expert Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman said in view of the surge in Covid-19 cases, it was not time to relax the rule on the wearing of face masks.
She added that while it was something that could be done “in due course”, there was a danger of such a policy sending out mixed messages to the public.
“Especially for those who have not quite grasped the basics of transmission and the reason for these rules. There is also the issue about having to identify those who have been vaccinated and those who haven’t.
“So, for now, any relaxing of rules on wearing face masks would be a bit premature,” said Adeeba, who is a member of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Science Council.
However, she said such a policy could be used to incentivise one to get themselves vaccinated.
Meanwhile, health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah was reported to have said that Malaysia will maintain the face mask and physical distancing rule for all those who have got their double dose of the Covid-19 vaccine despite the move by the CDC.
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