Aspirasi’s Soo backs call for caution on vaccine booster shots

Lina Soo

KUCHING (Sept 24): Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi) president Lina Soo agrees with the call by a Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) virologist on the need to exercise caution when rolling out Covid-19 vaccine booster shots.

Soo in a statement yesterday said Assoc Prof Dr Tan Cheng Siang of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences had stated that the best way to determine if an individual requires a third booster shot is through a quantitative antibody test which measures the amount of antibody against the spike of SARS-CoV-2.

“Dr Tan had proposed that the booster shot be given only to those with proven low antibody levels. He had also said that those who have recovered from natural infections may have already developed antibodies and acquired natural immunity.

“Studies have shown that those with naturally acquired immunity through exposure to Covid-19 have 13 times greater immunity to Covid-19 and its variants such as Delta, and it is possible a section of the population may have already acquired natural immunity through exposure to the virus in these 18 months,” said Soo.

She further said that Dr Tan had also highlighted vaccine-related adverse reactions such as myocarditis and thrombosis associated with some vaccine types, and had noted that the safety data on the administration of the third dose is weak and warrants close monitoring.

“I agree with this observation and believe that reporting on vaccine adverse events needs to be transparent, judiciously recorded and critically analysed,” she added.

Soo also welcomed the statement by Deputy Education Minister Dr Mah Hang Soon that children who are not vaccinated against Covid-19 would not be refused entry to school.

She reminded Sarawak Disaster Management Committee advisor Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian, in his enthusiasm to get Sarawak to be the first state to vaccinate young schoolchildren, that the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine is still under Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for children aged 12 to 15 years.

“This means the vaccine is still an experimental drug undergoing clinical studies and I hope Dr Sim does not intend for Sarawak’s children to be part of the ongoing study.

“The application for a third vaccine shot and vaccination for children from 12 years old must be evidence-based and science-based, and not bowing down to the hegemony of the pharmaceutical giants who control the vaccine industry for profits,” she said.

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