Vaccinated frontliners had mild symptoms after getting infected

PUTRAJAYA: Some 870 health workers who were infected with Covid-19 after receiving their jabs suffered only minor symptoms, says Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba (pic).

The Health Minister said the figure included 219 health frontliners who only received the first dose of the vaccine.

“There are 1,369 health frontliners who were infected. Out of this, 499 of them were infected before they were vaccinated.

“A total of 219 received their first dose while 651 who got infected are those who have received their second dose.

“Those who have been vaccinated only got minor symptoms. Their condition was not as bad as those who had not received the jab, ” said Dr Adham at a virtual press conference yesterday.

About 500,000 frontliners, including health workers, were the earliest to be vaccinated under Phase

One of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.

On another matter, Dr Adham said the number of Covid-19 patients in Category 4 and Category 5 have increased to 15% in recent weeks. Due to this, the minister urged patients with mild symptoms to exercise extra precaution.

“Some patients may be asymptomatic at first. So patients need to be wary and seek help immediately if their condition worsens, ” he said.

Category 4 are those with pneumonia and require oxygen while those in Category 5 are cases that require ventilator support.

The minister added the pandemic has also taken a toll on the mental health of healthcare workers.

Between Jan 1 and April 30, psychological first aid was given to 274,097 health workers, 199,373 received psycho-education and another 199,555 were taught relaxation techniques.

Intervention through art therapy was also given to 22,782 health workers during the same period.

Dr Adham said between Jan 1 and May 21, a total of 101,150 calls were received through various hotlines, seeking counselling services.

“From the figure, 91% of the callers to the ministry’s hotline, Talian Kasih as well as Jakim’s hotline, faced issues pertaining to financial crisis, unemployment, as well as work-related stress, ” he said.

To a question, Dr Adham said imposing a penalty on those who did not turn up for their vaccination appointment and making the inoculation mandatory could only be considered after all efforts to get people to register voluntarily had been exhausted.

“The special committee on Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee and the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force will look into this.

“But what needs to be done now is to use all avenues, including the help of NGOs, to get people to register and be vaccinated, ” he said.