Covid-19: Fully vaccinated frontliners who got infected only showed mild symptoms, says Dr Adham

PETALING JAYA: More than 1,800 healthcare workers were infected with Covid-19 despite being fully vaccinated but only reported mild symptoms, says Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.

The Health Minister said a total of 243,309 healthcare workers were fully vaccinated with two doses, and 1,834 of them got infected later.

He said 612 of them did not show any symptoms while 1,219 had only mild symptoms.

He added that two healthcare workers were placed in category three with lung infections.

“Only one person reached stage four (requiring supplemental oxygen) and no one reached stage five (needing to be intubated),” he said at a joint press conference with National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin on Wednesday (June 30).

Dr Adham added that fully vaccinated individuals can still be infected, but the vaccine protects a person from severe infection.

“(The majority were) only in category one and two. We were able to prevent (the severity of infection) so that there is no pressure on our healthcare system especially on the ICUs and hospitals,” he said.

Separately, Dr Adham also clarified that workplace clusters do not just involve the epicentre but also sub-clusters such as restaurants, public and private services, and others.

He noted that since Jan 1, among others, hotels have had three clusters; supermarkets, 52; the manufacturing sector, 284; public services, 29; private services, 82; the construction sector, 47; and the agricultural sector, 11.

"With this, we see that there is a need to increase vaccination rates in the workplace through the Pikas programme," he said.