Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh.
KUCHING (Sept 7): The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) has been told to refrain from using the term ‘herd immunity’, as it is both ‘misleading and confusing’ from a layman’s perspective.
This is according to Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) president Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh, who said even the World Health Organisation (WHO) itself is not exactly sure what percentage of vaccination constitutes ‘herd immunity’ insofar as Covid-19 is concerned.
“To quote WHO’s statement, the percentage of people who need to be immune in order to achieve herd immunity varies with each disease. For example, herd immunity against measles requires about 95 per cent of a population to be vaccinated.
“The remaining five percent will be protected by the fact that measles will not spread among those who are vaccinated. For polio, the threshold is about 80 per cent,” said Wong in a press statement yesterday.
The proportion of the population that must be vaccinated against Covid-19 to begin inducing herd immunity is not known, he added.
This is an important area of research and will likely vary according to the community, the vaccine, the populations prioritised for vaccination, and other factors, he said, while suggesting the public to read from the link https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/herd-immunity-lockdowns-and-covid-19.
In short, ‘herd immunity’ under Covid-19 is still ‘not clearly known’ – there are no clear-cut answers to this, Wong insisted.
“Hence, the less we harp on ‘herd immunity’ the better, lest people may be misled into believing that ‘life is returning to normal’ – which is unlikely to be, given the circumstances we are facing,” he said.
“There is little value in promoting herd immunity and percentages when these figures keep changing and are variable like shifting the goalposts and changing the size of the ball – a new ‘ball game’ results with every new announcement, so it appears to be,” he added.
Wong described it as grim the figures on Covid-19 cases in Malaysia on Sunday when Sarawak recorded for the first time the highest number of cases, surpassing Selangor.
“Sarawak continues to experience a spike in Covid-19 cases. Grim indeed, as we were so used to seeing just ‘single or double’ digit figures when Covid-19 first hit our Sarawak shores.
“But now, these are ‘common daily’ figures which Sarawakians are not proud to be sharing. Sarawak today (on Sunday) recorded 3,747 new positive cases with 130,898 recovered,” he pointed out.
“Out of the 3,747 cases, 2,965 in Category 1 mean they are with no symptom; 772 in Category 2 (with slight symptoms); one in Category 3 (with lung infection); three in Category 4 (with lung infection and requires oxygen) and; six in Category 5 (with lung Infection and requires ventilator),” he said.
Wong also pointed out that the statement by SDMC advisor, who is also Minister of Local Government and Housing, Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian that vaccinating Sarawak’s teenagers and children is key to achieving herd immunity is both timely and welcomed but yet confusing, if not misleading.
For starters, this ‘herd immunity’ had been repeatedly used as a catch-phrase by Sarawak’s state government leaders as well as SDMC to reassure the people at large that ‘things are under control’ as the vaccination programme was rolled out, Wong added.
“While we accord recognition and credit to SDMC for the high vaccination rate among the eligible population within the targeted deadline, it should be noted that only slightly over 80 per cent of the eligible adult population had been fully vaccinated as at Sept 5, 2021,” he said.
“Meaning, even if 100 per cent of the adult population were fully vaccinated, it would only account for about 80 per cent of the total population as adults comprise about 2.1 million out of a total population of 2.8 million people (as at 2020),” he added.
“However, it is noted that only about 85 per cent of the adult population had been fully vaccinated – leaving the teenagers and children still unvaccinated,” he stressed.
This has been reaffirmed by Dr Sim on Sept 5 2021 in a local news portal, Wong pointed out.
The Bawang Assan assemblyman noted that more vaccinations still result in more positive cases, notwithstanding the argument that there are less deaths and hospitalisation.
“In short, the pandemic appears to have worsened despite all the assurances that things are well kept under control. Are they?”
It is one thing to control the spread of the infections while trying to control the frustrations, if not anger on the ground over the flip-flop measures which are not helping to improve the situation, he said.
“For instance, take the long queues at the swabbing centres – people had to endure standing for hours just to get tested while running the risks of exposure to infections and the elements,” he added.
Another area where SDMC may seriously need to look into, he suggested, is people’s movement especially with the recent spike in infections, particularly in Kuching and the more ‘urban areas’ where offices are located.
There are cases of office cleaners who had unknowingly transmitted the virus to the staff of offices where they work, Wong pointed out.
From a recent example, he added, two cleaners – one tested positive only four days later and another was in direct contact with a positive patient from her village, meaning one was an asymptomatic carrier while the other tested negative.
“We need no reminders on the consequences of what a super-spreader can do. The ‘Pasai super-spreader’ had caused 2,693 persons to be infected.
“Most of these cleaners come from nearby kampungs and work as cleaners – moving from premises to premises to do cleaning (morning and afternoon).
“It may not be a coincidence that office clusters appear to be on the rise despite eateries being banned from accepting dine-ins. With cases in Kuching spiking like there’s no end to it,” said Wong.
“Obviously, there are no kopitiam or food court clusters, for now. Have they been ‘transferred’ to offices and workplaces instead?
“Most offices are fully air-conditioned and confined – some don’t even have windows and, for those offices affected, does SDMC look into this ‘ventilation’ factor? Or number of staff, based on the size of the office premises for social distancing? If strict enforcement and adherence to SOPs and preventive measures were not taken after an office had been infected, what assurance is there that it will not recur?”
Wong said PSB would offer some advice to SDMC and the State Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government, courtesy of Stephen Covey.
“We suggest Stephen Covey‘s ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ to help SDMC and the state GPS government in navigating the very real problems during these challenging ‘pandemic times’.
“These are valuable resources to help Sarawak, her people and government thrive during these uncertain times as to how to deal with change and uncertainty,” said Wong.
The following are the seven habits which Covey prescribed.
Firstly, be proactive, which means focus and act on what you can control and influence, instead of what you can’t and that prevention is always better than cure.
Secondly, begin with the end in mind which means define clear measures of success and a plan to achieve them.
Thirdly, put first things first which means prioritise and achieve your most important goals, instead of constantly reacting to urgencies as proactiveness is a much better option than reactiveness.
Fourthly, think win-win which means collaborate more effectively by building high-trust relationships – with all the stakeholders – when one of us is threatened, everyone is at risk.
Fifthly, seek first to understand than to be understood – influence others by developing a deep understanding of their needs and perspectives and therefore listen before jumping to wrong conclusions.
Sixth, synergise, which means developing innovative solutions that leverage diversity and satisfy all key stakeholders – to save lives while sustaining the people’s livelihood.
Lastly, sharpen the saw, which means sawing-off unnecessary ‘mega projects’, increase motivation, energy, and work/life balance by making time for renewing activities among others.
“An effective and impactful ‘Bantuan Rakyat’ is also a form of ‘motivation’ and addressing mental health should not be overlooked too,” said Wong.
“Sarawak this day expects SDMC and the state GPS government to do their duty. Sarawakians expect nothing more, nothing less but only the best. Over to you SDMC and GPS – that’s for you, to pass the test,” added Wong.