KOTA KINABALU: In an interview with RTM at his office, Assemblyman Datuk Yong Teck Lee said that CanSinoBIO (康希諾生物) is his first choice of vaccines when his turn came to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
“This is because taking the CanSinoBIO vaccine involves taking only nine steps because only one dose of the vaccine is needed. After one dose, a recipient of this vaccine will be given a vaccine card, also nicknamed vaccine passport. For all the other four types of vaccines, two doses involving a total of eighteen steps are needed before the vaccine is deemed to be effective and before a vaccine card is given”, said Yong.
“Based on the official publication of the Jawatankuasa Khas Jaminan Akses Bekalan Vaksin Covid-19 (JKJAV), the procedure after taking each dose is to monitor for AEFI (After Effects Following Immunisation). The common word for AEFI is side-effects. So, common sense is that, if we take two doses, then there are two chances of getting side effects with, presumably, twice the amounts of vaccines. With CanSinoBIO, there is only once change of getting side effects, if any”, commented Yong, who is an ex-Chief Minister.
Yong said that CanSinoBIO is one of the five vaccines currently approved for use in Malaysia. “In the event that CanSinoBIO is not available, then my second choice is SinoVac, although SinoVac also requires two doses. Why Sinovac? Because my overseas travel is mostly within Asia, including China. It is obvious that I will choose a vaccine made in China. It also happens that Sinovac and CanSinoBIO are used widely in Asian countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Indochina, Turkey, Pakistan and China”.
“Having a Sinovac or CanSinoBIO vaccine card gives me greater confidence that my travels within Asia, including China, will not be impeded.
“As for CanSinoBIO and Sinovac, my confidence is based on reliable reports that these two vaccines have been tested over the longest period of time and administered on the largest population of people with no reports of serious or long-term side effects,” Yong said.
On social media talk that some the vaccines are not safe, Yong asserted that all the five vaccines approved for use in Malaysia have been approved by most governments, including that of Asian countries.
Yong joked that those who are fearful to take the vaccines can wait to be the last (to be vaccinated) and see what happened to the other people who had been vaccinated earlier.
*Vaccine passport is why I take the vaccine*
“But I will take the vaccine because I want to have the vaccine passport. I understand that, without the vaccine passport, one is not allowed to travel to other countries and not likely to be admitted into office premises and other places. That means that I would not be able to carry out my work and live a normal life, Yong said.
*Allow private hospitals to administer vaccines*
Yong also proposed that the government should allow private hospitals to administer any of the five approved vaccines to any person who wish not to wait to be vaccinated. Allowing private hospitals to administer the vaccines would also save the government some money and allow private individuals to choose any one of the five vaccines.-pr/BNN
