DOC2US, Malaysia’s only telemedicine provider has provided the readers of DailyStraits.com with a series of infographics to help address the concerns on COVID-19, its vaccines and related issues.
Based on the questions received by its COVID-19 task force via the government’s integrated platform, MySejahtera app, one of the most frequently asked questions in recent months is: “Does the brand of COVID-19 vaccines matter?”
“Different brands of COVID-19 vaccines have varying efficacies and it gets complicated when different brands measure efficacy differently,” DOC2US Medical Director Dr Ming-Lee Ng said in a statement.
“Instead of getting into the nitty-gritty of each brand, we should focus on the ultimate goal in achieving herd immunity by having at least 80 per cent of the adult population in Malaysia vaccinated.”
According to Our World In Data, only 2.5 per cent of the Malaysian population is fully vaccinated as of May 18, lagging behind the global figure of 4.7 per cent.
“We assembled our COVID-19 taskforce which is made up of professional doctors and healthcare professionals shortly before the Movement Control Order (MCO) 1.0 in March last year,” DOC2US CEO Dr Raymond Choy said.
“It is a voluntary virtual health advisory service to help the public gain adequate information about the spread and the management of the COVID-19 pandemic and reduce patient-medical healthcare specialist contact.
“The public can ask our taskforce questions on COVID-19 and related matters via the MySejahtera App for free,” he added.
Some of the most frequently asked questions received by the task force on COVID-19 and related issues are:
1. Does the brand of COVID-19 vaccines matter?
No, it does not.
2. What if I suddenly don’t feel like receiving the vaccination on that day? Can I just FFK (stands for Fong Fei Fei, which means ditching the appointment in Cantonese)?
Technically, you can. Receiving a vaccination is a voluntary option, one won’t be criminalised for ditching the appointment. However, unless you have a valid reason, you SHOULDN’T miss your appointment. Here’s why:
3. How to report adverse effects following the COVID-19 vaccination?
4. Can you tell me more about blood clots and COVID-19 vaccines?
At this stage, scientists are still investigating the matter.
- Should pregnant women receive the COVID-19 vaccine?
At the moment, no study to date has specifically evaluated the COVID-19 vaccine in pregnant and lactating women.
In other words, we don’t have enough data to come up with any conclusion.
6. Are more young people in Malaysia getting infected by COVID-19?
Yes! More younger folks in Malaysia have been admitted into the Intensive Care Unit due to COVID-19.
7. I’m COVID positive, in quarantine and haven’t received a call from the Health Ministry. What should I do?
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