Voon Shiak Ni
KUCHING (Sept 15): It is only just and fair for everyone, whether they are old and young, to have access to Covid-19 vaccines, said social activist Voon Shiak Ni.
Voon, in a statement today, said this is because the Delta variant, which has caused a spike in infections around the world, cannot be stopped and vaccination has proven to be able to protect those infected from severe symptoms and hospitalisation.
She pointed out that unvaccinated young people are extremely vulnerable now with the delta variant surge.
“The unstoppable surge in Covid-19 infections due to the Delta variant is obvious across the globe and as the volume of infections gets bigger, the young becomes more susceptible and vulnerable as they are not vaccinated.
“Epidemiologists from the United States have issue warnings that it is not true anymore that children are less susceptible to Covid-19 infections with the Delta variant. The median of age of cases reported has dropped from 16 to five years old as of last month in the United States,” she said.
Voon said she found it ironic that in Malaysia, a court action has been filed in Penang to stop the government from vaccinating those aged below 18.
“What is the public interest that the suit is driving at? Are they representing the voices of the majority?” she questioned.
“Vaccination is the only way to protect ourselves from the onslaught of the pandemic and to stop the government from giving vaccines to the children is being very irresponsible to the community as a whole.”
The government has started the Covid-19 vaccination programme for adolescents aged 16 and 17 years old in the country on Sept 8, with Sarawak being the first state to roll-out the vaccination programme.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the vaccination will also include those between 12 and 15 years old considered to be at high risk to Covid-19.
Meanwhile, Voon said it is fortunate that Sarawak has successfully executed the vaccination programme for the adult population before the arrival of the Delta variant in Sarawak.
“The escalating surge of the Delta variant across the globe spares no country and has in no time become the dominant strain in many countries. Sarawak is not spared and Delta variant has dominated almost 100 per cent of the infections across Sarawak with the daily spike of a few thousand cases for the past couple of weeks.
“It is obvious that we cannot stop the spread of the Delta infections and it is already everywhere in Sarawak. The only consolation is that most of the adult population in Sarawak are fully vaccinated,” she added.
On another note, Voon said that the government should be prepared to expand the room and space and also the public health facilities to accommodate more patients and for speedy treatment for Covid-19 patients.
“It is simple mathematics that as the volume of infections swells, more people will be infected, even though more than 90 per cent of the cases may only need home quarantine,” she added.