DOC2US, the first and only telemedicine provider in Malaysia in compliance with the Ministry of Health to provide digitally signed e-prescription services, released 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?”
So, does it matter?
Dr Ming-Lee Ng, Medical Director of DOC2US said, “Different brands of COVID-19 vaccines have varying efficacies and it gets complicated when different brands measure efficacy differently. 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% of the adult population in Malaysia vaccinated.”
According to Our World In Data, only 2.5% of the Malaysian population is fully vaccinated as at 18 May 2021, lagging behind the global figure of 4.7%.
Dr Raymond Choy, Chief Executive Officer of DOC2US said, “We assembled our COVID-19 Task Force which is made up of professional doctors and healthcare professionals shortly prior to the Movement Control Order (MCO) 1.0 in March last year. It is a voluntary virtual health advisory service with the aim 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 task force questions on COVID-19 and related matters via the MySejahtera App for free.”
FAQ
1) Does the brand of COVID-19 vaccines matter?
The short answer is: No, the brand does not matter. Follow this link for a more detailed answer.
Image Credits: DOC2US
2) “What if I suddenly don’t feel like receiving the vaccination on that day? Can I just ffk (stands for fong fei kei, it means ditching or stand up on an appointment in Cantonese)?”
Technically you can. Receiving a vaccination is a voluntary action, you won’t be criminalised for ditching your COVID-19 appointment. However, unless you have a valid reason, you SHOULDN’T miss your COVID-19 vaccination appointment. Here’s why.
Image Credits: DOC2US
3) How to report adverse effects following a COVID-19 vaccination?
Image Credits: DOC2US
4) Can you tell me more about blood clots & COVID-19 vaccines?
Authorities in certain countries speculated that AstraZeneca’s or Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccines are linked to a few rare but serious blood clotting cases. To be fair, when we said that these two vaccines are linked to rare but serious blood clotting cases, we don’t mean that the vaccines cause the blood clots; it’s just that these two vaccines and certain blood clot cases seem to have some unclear connection, but it doesn’t imply causation. At this stage, scientists simply do not know enough to answer that.
Image Credits: DOC2US
5) 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 inform us how safe the COVID-19 vaccine is in such a population. This DOES NOT mean that COVID-19 vaccine is unsafe for pregnant and breastfeeding women, it’s just that we don’t know its safety for sure. You can click here for more info.
Image Credits: DOC2US
6) Are more young people in Malaysia infected by COVID-19?
According to the analysis published by CodeBlue, although the elderly aged 65 years old and above still comprise 59.5% of the death cases; but for the first time ever, the death rates among young people (25 to 54 years old) exceeded those who are slightly older, i.e. aged 55 to 64 years old, from March 31 to May 4 2021. In other words, more and more younger people in Malaysia have been admitted into ICU or died of COVID-19. You can click here for more info.
Image Credits: DOC2US
7) I’m Covid-positive and currently under home quarantine. However, I have yet to receive a call from KKM. What should I do now?
Please refer to this link for more information.
Image Credits: DOC2US
If the public has any enquiries related to COVID-19, they can consult the COVID -19 Task Force for FREE through MySejahtera>Digital Health>VHA>DOC2US.
