Over the past few days, the news that 2 doses of Sinovac combined with the Pfizer booster shot has been proven less effective against new variant, Omicron has caused alarm among most Malaysians.
The good news is that after some thorough research Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said existing data showed that the Sinovac - Pfizer combo actually offered longer-term protection against getting seriously ill from Covid-19.
He even encouraged eligible recipients who had taken the Sinovac vaccine to get the their booster shots as the effectiveness of it starts to decrease after a few months.
As most Sarawakians in Malaysia were given the Sinovac vaccine, it was the first state to implement the booster doses making them the majority whom received the Pfizer booster shot.
According to the Health Ministry's CovidNow Portal, data has shown a drop in daily hospital admissions from August 2022 to January 2021.
Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said all of the above when commenting on the preprint study by Yale University that suggested 2 Sinovac + Pfizer booster is less effective against the Omicron vaccine.
While nothing was mention on the effectiveness of the combo against the Omicorn variant, it is understood based on Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin's statement on the 1st of January that the ministry's technical committee is studying the need for a possible fourth dose.
So is the Sinovac+Pfizer combo effective against COVID-19, yes but is it effective against the Omicron variant, that is to be confirmed.
