Sin Chew Daily

Following the successful launch of vaccination programs in many countries, it was reported in the Financial Times that 105 million vaccine doses had been administered worldwide as of Feb 3, more than the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

And another uplifting piece of news: the vaccines have obviously worked, as the numbers of new cases in the UK and Israel — two of the world's most vaccinated countries — have dropped significantly.

Israel boasts the highest vaccination rate in the world with over 40% of its population having been vaccinated so far. The Israeli health authorities believe the efficacy of the vaccines could be higher than expected. The same promising results have also been displayed in the UK.

Both the UK and Israel are using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Although we still do not have substantial data for the efficacy of vaccines developed by other manufacturers, medical experts believe that it is already a major breakthrough that so many different vaccines have been developed, mass produced and administered with encouraging preliminary results, barely a year since the onset of the pandemic.

That said, there is still a long way to go before a substantial herd immunity can be generated, and this will very much depend on the coverage of vaccination programs, the effectiveness of the vaccines against the virus, as well as the control of the R0 value, among others.

The Israeli experience tells us two things:

Firstly, widespread vaccination program produces more remarkable effects than a lockdown by comparison.

Secondly, the relatively small land area and population of Israel, coupled with well developed medical system and cold chain transportation facilities, have facilitated the speedy implementation of the country's vaccination program. But most importantly, there has been a very high level of trust in the vaccines among the Israeli people.

In Malaysia, our first batch of Pfizer vaccine is expected to arrive here on February 26. Like all other countries in this world, the economic outlook of our economy over the next two years will very much depend on the progress of our vaccination program and how well we will put the virus under control.

Finance minister Tengku Zafrul has said that some 27 million Malaysians or 80% of our population will be vaccinated within the next one year, making it possible for a herd immunity to materialize.

This will not only deliver us out of the year-long COVID-19 nightmare but will also help boost our economic recovery.

But before the vaccination program is completed, both the government and people in general must not take the virus too lightly. Public education to enhance the confidence level of Malaysians in the vaccines is utterly essential.

Where vaccine transportation is concerned, health minister Adham Baba says a dry run was successfully carried out in Sarawak on January 29 and 30, while the ministry will continue to coordinate with state authorities to ensure nothing will go wrong when the vaccines are actually here for distribution nationwide.

The biggest challenge now is the lack of confidence among some Malaysians. A survey shows that majority of Malaysians are still skeptical about the vaccine's safety and efficacy, thanks to the misinformation circulated in social media. Additionally, anti-vaccine campaigns and religious factors have also distorted the public's perception of the vaccines.

In view of this, the authorities must take the necessary steps to stop the propagation of such misinformation lest it thwarts the government's vaccination program.

Major manufacturers worldwide have their own SOPs in the development, clinical experimentation, production as well as transportation of vaccines. We must trust the professionals instead of our own feelings in questioning the effectiveness of the vaccines.