The Malaysian Health Coalition said variants were inevitable in a multi-year pandemic, and the government should establish and implement an endemic Covid-19 strategy that included measures against Omicron and other possible future variants.
“As Covid-19 becomes endemic, new variants are very likely to appear,” the coalition said in a statement today. “Malaysia needs a variety of solutions to keep the rakyat safe, and boosters, genomic surveillance and a well-implemented national testing strategy will support public health.”
The coalition recommended the following:
Increased genomic surveillance
It said Malaysia had performed successful surveillance for viral diseases since the 1960s, and with Omicron detected here, there was a need to adapt, pool and utilise existing resources to increase genome sequencing.
According to global non-profit for genomic data (GISAID), it said, Malaysia sequenced only 0.26% of all Covid-19 cases in the past 90 days, below the recommended 0.7% to 2.0% depending on case numbers.
“Malaysia is under-sequencing compared to other developing countries like Thailand, India and South Africa. Therefore, we must actively build our own genome sequencing capacity through innovative partnerships between the Institute for Medical Research and university research and private laboratories.
“We must sequence more in targeted clusters and at points of entry to understand the spread of Omicron and detect emerging variants. The detection of variants must be coupled with robust real-world data collection and analysis of case numbers, admissions and disease severity to monitor its impact.
“We must also invest in R&D to expand the personnel, expertise and infrastructure of our surveillance system. This allows new technologies and tools to be deployed to detect and respond to future variants.”
Deployment of boosters
The Malaysian Health Coalition said boosters must be deployed as quickly as possible.
“Evidence from clinical trials and real-world data proves that boosters are effective against variants. Globally, government policies have increasingly supported boosters,” it said.
“We commend the government’s decision to expand boosters to more and more groups. However, we urge the government to publicise booster data, including all safety data regarding Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI), to build public confidence about the need for and safety of boosters. Data transparency on safety and AEFIs will increase booster uptake.
“We also urge the government to build a sustainable booster strategy, which requires answering the question, ‘Will we need boosters Round 2, 3 or 4?’. Immunological studies may be needed to build clinical evidence to prove the effects of boosters on variants like Omicron.”
Implement national testing strategy robustly
The coalition welcomed the launch of the national testing strategy (NTS) on Nov 26, especially its explicit focus on rapid tests and not over-relying on PCR tests.
However, it said, there was no implementation date or implementation plan.
“Therefore, we urge its immediate and robust implementation, with strong government action to ensure everyone has equal access to affordable, quality and timely testing.
“Children under 12 are currently ineligible for the first two doses of vaccine, and children aged 12 to 18 currently ineligible for booster doses should be offered more regular testing, over and above the NTS,” it said.
“The NTS must be evaluated and refined constantly alongside the evolving endemic Covid-19, and integrated into the health ministry’s database for centralised data collection and monitoring.”
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