Malaysia doing better against Omicron compared to Delta wave

Illustrative image (Source: AFP)

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – The Malaysian Ministry of Health affirmed on February 9 that that the country is doing better against the wave of Omicron variant infections than it did with the Delta in July 2021 due to wide vaccination coverage and high booster uptakes.

The ministry is confident that Malaysia is dealing with a "completely different situation" regards the Omicron wave despite recording more than 10,000 new daily cases.

The ministry, by comparing five key indicators, demonstrated that COVID-19 vaccinations and booster jabs have helped reduce hospitalisations, admissions to Intensive Care Units (ICU) and fatalities.

The five key indicators - vaccination rates, new daily cases, admissions to hospitals, ICU admissions and daily deaths - compared data obtained from July 13, 2021, (Delta wave) with data from February 7, 2022.

The number of fully vaccinated individuals recorded an eight-fold increase - from 3,940,548 people on July 13 to 25,723,208 people on February 7.

A total 12,473,139 individuals, or 54 percent of the total adults, have also received their booster jabs as of February 7.

Experts said honesty and transparency are the keys to preventing a major spread of COVID-19 in schools.

Associate Professor Dr Malina Osman, a public health specialist, emphasised on the need for all quarters to be honest when returning to schools following the surge in COVID-19 cases nationwide./.

VNA