Persatuan Doktor Sambut Baik Pelan ‘Komprehensif’ Pemvaksinan COVID-19 Putrajaya

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MalaysiaNow

Persatuan doktor-doktor perubatan negara ini menyambut baik rancangan kerajaan bagi mencapai imuniti kelompok sehingga 80% daripada populasi untuk mengekang pandemik Covid-19 menjelang akhir tahun ini, dengan mengatakan langkah itu sebagai “strategik dan komprehensif”.

Persatuan Perubatan Malaysia (MMA) turut mengatakan kira-kira 7,000 doktor klinik swasta dapat menyertai program tersebut, dan menambah klinik dapat memainkan peranan lebih besar terutama di kawasan penduduk padat yang lebih berisiko berlaku penularan covid-19.

“Sebahagian besar klinik swasta terletak di kawasan ini. Oleh itu ia memberikan akses lebih cepat dan lebih mudah kepada penduduk,” kata Presiden MMA Dr Subramaniam Muniandy.

Katanya, penglibatan sektor kesihatan swasta dalam ujian massa virus itu menjadikan mereka lebih bersedia dalam menyelaras pemvaksinan dalam skala besar seperti Covid-19.

Malaysia antara negara yang masih menunggu bekalan pertama vaksin, ketika berlaku lonjakan kes tinggi yang menyaksikan jangkitan harian melepasi angka 4,000 beberapa kali bulan ini.

Pihak berkuasa kesihatan akan membuka pendaftaran sukarela imunisasi vaksin Covid-19 tidak lama lagi dengan menyasarkan 70% imuniti kelompok melibatkan 23 juta rakyat negara ini.

Malaysia menempah sebanyak 25 juta dos vaksin Pfizer, dengan separuh daripadanya dijadualkan tiba pada akhir Februari.

Sementara itu, MMA berharap kerajaan dapat menjamin ketelusan dan menghalang “orang tengah atau ejen bukan penjagaan kesihatan” daripada terlibat dalam pengurusan vaksin, dan menambah ia perlu dilaksanakan oleh “pegawai perubatan yang terlatih dan berkelayakan”.

Ia mengatakan program vaksinasi kebangsaan untuk Covid-19 tidak pernah berlaku sebelum ini, dan lebih banyak maklumat perlu disalurkan bagi menyakinkan orang ramai untuk menerima suntikan tersebut.

Semalam Menteri Sains, Teknologi dan Inovasi Khairy Jamaluddin, yang kementeriannya diberi tanggungjawab untuk memperoleh bekalan vaksin Covid-19 daripada beberapa firma farmaseutikal mengatakan Putrjaya akan memulakan program pemvaksinan ke atas 75,000 orang sehari di 600 tempat vaksinasi di seluruh negara bermula Mac.

Tempat-tempat itu merangkumi klinik-klinik dan hospital kerajaan, kemudahan perubatan universiti dan tentera serta klinik swasta.

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Bod sinun-

Caj RM1,000 untuk ujian saringan Covid-19? Tak masuk akal langsung

Raja Noraina Raja Rahim
[email protected]


Kuala Lumpur: Persatuan Pengguna Islam Malaysia (PPIM) mendedahkan, terdapat segelintir pusat perubatan dan klinik swasta mengenakan caj tinggi bagi ujian saringan Covid-19 sehingga mencecah RM1,000.

Ketua Aktivis PPIM Datuk Nadzim Johan berkata, pihaknya menerima beberapa aduan daripada individu yang menjalani ujian saringan di pusat perubatan terbabit.

"PPIM dimaklumkan, ada pusat perubatan dan klinik swasta yang mengenakan caj antara RM700 hingga RM1,000 bagi seorang individu.

"Harga itu tidak masuk akal dan membebankan pengguna. Pihak terbabit dilihat sengaja mengambil kesempatan terhadap orang ramai yang ingin mendapatkan perkhidmatan mereka.

"Dalam keadaan ekonomi yang terkesan akibat pandemik Covid-19, sudah tentu bukan mudah untuk orang ramai membelanjakan kos yang tinggi," katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian kepada media selepas pelepasan misi bantuan pasca banjir di pejabat PPIM di sini, hari ini.

Nadzim berkata, tindakan pusat perubatan terbabit boleh dianggap sebagai satu penipuan dan perlu dipandang serius oleh kerajaan.

Tambahnya, kerajaan perlu campur tangan dan mengawal kos saringan Covid-19 membabitkan pusat perubatan swasta bagi memastikan tiada pihak yang mengambil kesempatan.

"Jangan ada sampai RM1,000 atau lebih. Itu membebankan, saya yakin pihak hospital pun ada tanggungjawab sosial untuk membantu dalam keadaan darurat dan kesulitan dihadapi ketika ini," katanya.


NADZIM Johan (kiri) dan Ketua Pesuruhjaya Pertahanan Awam, Datuk Roslan Wahab pada majlis pelepasan barangan Misi Bantuan Banjir berupa mesin basuh, minyak masak, pakaian dan barangan keperluan harian ke Johor. FOTO Rohanis Shukri

Sementara itu, ditanya berkaitan kenaikan harga barangan terutama bekalan makanan mentah semasa tempoh Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan (PKP), beliau tidak menafikan ada peniaga mengambil kesempatan disebabkan bekalan yang terhad.

Justeru, katanya, kerajaan melalui Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri dan Hal Ehwal Pengguna (KPDNHEP) perlu melakukan pemantauan bagi mengelak situasi lebih buruk.

Beliau turut bersetuju dengan cadangan masyarakat yang meminta skim kawalan harga diadakan bagi mengawal harga barangan keperluan seperti di musim perayaan.

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NASIONAL


62 sukarelawan terima suntikan vaksin terawal di Malaysia

Oleh Noorazura Abdul Rahman
[email protected]
January 30, 2021 @ 6:21pm

62 sukarelawan terima suntikan vaksin terawal di Malaysia
Kumpulan pertama 62 sukarelawan menerima suntikan vaksin hari ini dengan majoritinya golongan belia berusia antara 18 hingga 30 tahun.-/ Foto NSTP
SUNGAI PETANI: Kerajaan memulakan suntikan vaksin bagi Kajian Klinikal Fasa 3 Vaksin COVID-19 kepada 62 sukarelawan di Hospital Sultan Abdul Halim (HSAH) Sungai Petani, hari ini.

Individu itu adalah kumpulan terawal di Malaysia menerima suntikan vaksin berkenaan dan mereka adalah sebahagian daripada 375 individu yang disasarkan menjadi sukarelawan bagi proses penerimaan suntikan kajian klinikal vaksin COVID-19 di hospital itu.

Ketua Jabatan Pusat Penyelidikan Klinikal HSAH, Dr Vijaya Kumar L Suppan, berkata sukarelawan terbabit dipilih dalam kalangan individu berumur 18 tahun ke atas dan memiliki tubuh badan yang sihat.

Selain itu, katanya, mereka yang dipilih tidak membabitkan wanita mengandung, wanita bercadang mengandung dan wanita yang masih berada dalam proses penyusuan.

"Majoriti sambutan yang diterima untuk menjadi sukarelawan di HSAH membabitkan kumpulan belia yang berumur antara 18 hingga 30 tahun. Mereka sudah menjalani saringan Khamis lalu dan selepas didapati bebas COVID-19, barulah boleh menerima suntikan vaksin pada hari ini.

"Kebanyakan mereka mengetahui maklumat berkaitan Kajian Klinikal Fasa 3 Vaksin COVID-19 melalui media sosial seperti aplikasi Facebook, WhatsApp dan Twitter," katanya.

Kementerian Kesihatan (KKM) menerusi satu kenyataan sebelum ini menyatakan Kajian Klinikal Fasa 3 adalah kerjasama antara Malaysia dan China menerusi Institut Biologi Perubatan Akademi Sains Perubatan China (IMBCAMS). Kajian sama turut dijalankan di Brazil selain Kajian Klinikal Fasa 1 dan 2 dilakukan di China.

Vaksin kajian berkenaan menggunakan platform vaksin tidak aktif yang diperbuat daripada virus yang sudah dimatikan.

Kira-kira 3,000 sukarelawan di seluruh negara akan menerima suntikan di sembilan hospital KKM yang dijadikan tapak kajian di bawah seliaan Institut Penyelidikan Klinikal (ICR) KKM iaitu HSAH, Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah (HSB) Alor Setar, Hospital Taiping, Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun, Hospital Seberang Jaya, Hospital Pulau Pinang, Hospital Ampang, Hospital Sungai Buloh dan Hospital Umum Sarawak.

Mengulas lanjut, Dr Vijaya berkata, sukarelawan terbabit juga akan dikawal selia dan dipantau pihak hospital selama setahun, selain perlu menjalani beberapa ujian lain untuk mengetahui kesan suntikan yang mula dilaksanakan hari ini.

Katanya, suntikan kedua akan diadakan dalam masa 14 hari selepas ini.

"Bagaimanapun, sukarelawan ini akan dipantau setiap minggu selama enam minggu untuk kita tahu kesan dan cara penerimaan suntikan vaksin ini.

"Selepas enam minggu sukarelawan ini akan dihubungi melalui telefon dua minggu sekali sehingga tempoh setahun," katanya.

Sementara itu, Dr Vijaya turut berharap orang ramai terutama yang tinggal di utara tanah air berdaftar sebagai sukarelawan bagi Kajian Klinikal berkenaan di enam hospital termasuk di HSAH Sungai Petani, Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah (HSB) Alor Setar, Hospital Taiping, Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun, Hospital Seberang Jaya dan Hospital Pulau Pinang.

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Kerajaan akan memulakan roll-out pelaksanaan Program Imunisasi Covid-19 Kebangsaan mulai hujung bulan ini.




Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin berkata sebanyak 80 peratus populasi negara ini atau 26.5 juta individu akan menerima vaksin ini yang akan diberikan secara percuma kepada rakyat Malaysia.




Menurutnya, program Imunisasi Covid-19 Kebangsaan ini akan membabitkan tiga fasa.








Foto: pmo.gov.my








"Fasa pertama akan membabitkan sejumlah 500,000 petugas barisan hadapan yang terdiri daripada petugas kesihatan dan petugas bukan kesihatan.




"Fasa ini amat penting untuk melindungi petugas barisan hadapan kita dalam memerangi pandemik Covid-19. Fasa pertama program imunisasi ini dijadualkan tamat pada April," katanya ketika sidang media khas sebentar tadi.




Manakala bagi fasa kedua pula, Muhyiddin berkata ia akan membabitkan kumpulan yang berisiko tinggi dijangkiti Covid-19.




"Mereka ialah warga emas dan golongan rentan iaitu yang berusia 60 tahun ke atas, yang mengalami masalah morbiditi seperti penyakit jantung, obesiti, diabetes dan tekanan darah tinggi. Golongan orang kelainan upaya (OKU) turut termasuk di dalam fasa ini.




"Sebanyak 9.4 juta orang dianggarkan akan menerima vaksin di bawah fasa kedua ini, yang akan berlangsung mulai April hingga Ogos 2021," katanya.




Bagi fasa ketiga pula, kata beliau, baki penerima vaksin adalah golongan dewasa berumur 18 tahun ke atas, yang akan bermula dari bulan Mei 2021 hingga Februari 2022.




"Fasa ini penting untuk membentuk perlindungan kelompok atau herd immunity dan seterusnya mengawal pandemik ini secara menyeluruh.




"Untuk memastikan program ini berjalan dengan lancar, teratur serta memudahkan orang ramai, lebih 600 pusat simpanan yang juga pusat pemberian vaksin akan dibuka di seluruh negara.




"Saya sudah mengarahkan pihak berkuasa supaya menggunakan pelbagai kemudahan termasuk fasiliti kesihatan awam dan swasta, stadium, pusat konvensyen, dewan orang ramai serta universiti sebagai pusat vaksinasi.




"eruntukan di dalam Ordinan Darurat (Kuasa-Kuasa Perlu) 2021 akan digunakan oleh Kerajaan untuk mengambilalih secara sementara dewan dan kemudahan yang lain bagi tujuan persediaan untuk melaksanakan Program Imunisasi Covid-19 Kebangsaan," katanya.




Beliau berkata, Program Imunisasi Covid-19 Kebangsaan ini adalah program vaksinasi terbesar yang pernah dilaksanakan di negara ini.




"Justeru, saya menyeru dan mengajak seluruh rakyat Malaysia untuk bersama-sama menggembleng tenaga dan segala sumber yang ada bagi menjayakan program ini.




"Anda semua boleh bersama-sama menghulurkan bantuan sama ada dari aspek perubatan dan bukan perubatan, khususnya aspek pendidikan kesihatan di pusat-pusat vaksinasi bagi menjayakan program ini.




"We are all in this together, and only together can we win. Lindung diri, lindung semua," katanya

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Bod sinun-



Professor Graham Kendall is Good Capitalism Forum chief executive...

ALONG with most countries around the world, Malaysia has had to spend a lot of money in the fight against Covid-19, but are these amounts excessive when compared with other things that mankind has decided to fund, rather than be forced to fund?

I thought it would be interesting to look at the amounts two countries have had to spend in the fight against Covid-19, and compare them against how much it would cost to land a robotic vehicle on Mars, which has also been a feature of news headlines in the last week or so.

Perseverance left Earth on July 30 last year, and successfully landed on Mars seven months later, on February 18 this year. This National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) robot joins Curiosity, which left Earth on November 26, 2011, arriving on Mars on August 6, 2012. Since landing on Mars almost nine years ago, Curiosity has travelled over 24km and is still communicating with Nasa. Three other Nasa robots are also on Mars, but they are no longer in communication with Nasa.

Nasa’s Mars programme can be traced back more than 25 years, and, before that, there were other programmes, such as Apollo that landed man on the moon in 1969. Nasa has also invested in other planetary missions, which are shown in Table 1.

When space stories make the news, it is inevitable that a discussion be held on the cost of these missions, their benefit to mankind and whether the return on investment is justified.

Space exploration, by its nature, is expensive. Not only do the projects require detailed planning and high levels of expertise, but they are also long-term, which require continual investment.

How much does Nasa spend?

The cost of Perseverance over the lifetime of the project is estimated to be almost US$3 billion (RM12.22 billion in today’s exchange rate). This is a huge sum of money by anybody’s measure, but the Planetary Society puts this figure into some sort of context. For example, Google makes this amount in profit every six days and Americans spend this amount on their pets every 10 days.

What about Nasa’s other planetary missions? Table 1 shows that it has invested US$25.5 billion over the past (approximately) 50 years.

Table 1: Cost of Nasa’s planetary missions. All figures are inflation-adjusted and are in US$ billions. – The Planetary Society, March 8, 2021


Table 1: Cost of Nasa’s planetary missions. All figures are inflation-adjusted and are in US$ billions. – The Planetary Society, March 8, 2021
There are other expeditions, such as the Apollo programme, which cost US$206 billion. Manned space travel is invariably more expensive as you have to return the occupants to Earth. More protection is needed for humans than for robots, and even more stringent safety is required.

How much did we spend on Covid-19?

It would be reasonable to assume that whatever we have spent on Covid-19 would be dwarfed by what we have spent on planetary exploration. After all, we have been exploring the planets for over 50 years, space travel is expensive and Covid-19 has only been with us for about a year.

In July last year, The BMJ reported that the United Kingdom government has spent US$12.7 billion on a Covid-19 track-and-trace system and a further US$19 billion on personal protective equipment (PPE).

This US$31.7 billion is an attempt to control the spread of Covid-19. This would have paid for more than 10 Perseverance missions to Mars. Indeed, it would have funded all of Nasa’s planetary missions, which totalled US$25.5 billion (see Table 1).

What Nasa has spent in the last 50 years, the UK government has spent in about 12 months and on just two aspects of the Covid-19 crisis (track-and-trace and PPEs). If we take into account many of the other costs, such as the furloughing of jobs, support for businesses and reduction in tax revenue, then the amount spent as a result of the coronavirus is significantly higher.

Last November, the BBC estimated that the UK will need to borrow ￡394 billion (RM2.22 trillion) for the current financial year (April 2020 to April 2021). The UK government would have expected to have borrowed about ￡55 billion anyway, but the additional borrowing of US$473 billion would have funded Nasa’s planetary exploration missions more than 18 times. In fact, it would have funded the entire Apollo programme twice.

The UK press are very critical of these costs. In December last year, The Guardian ran an article titled “England’s test-and-trace repeatedly failed to hit goals despite ￡22 billion cost”.

How does Malaysia compare?

What about Malaysia? In January, The Edge Markets reported that Malaysia has invested about RM305 billion in stimulus packages as a result of Covid-19. This is enough funding to provide Nasa with three times the amount that they have spent on planetary exploration. The money could have funded 25 Perseverance programmes.

We have to recognise that Nasa was able to plan well in advance, there was no need for quick decision-making and every aspect of the project could be considered very carefully.

By comparison, the response to Covid-19 had to be done quickly, there was little experience to draw upon and decisions were being made under intense scrutiny from the media, public and opposition parties.

The take-home messages

1. The landing of a fifth Nasa rover on Mars is credit to the ingenuity and tenacity of mankind. Hopefully, the US$25.5 billion spent by Nasa over the past 50 years will pay dividends as the human race continues to reach out from the planet we call home, in a quest to go ever deeper into space.

2. When we talk about space exploration, the assumption is that it is eye-wateringly expensive, and US$3 billion to put a small robotic vehicle on a distant planet is a lot of money.

3. By comparison though, the amount of money spent by the UK on Covid-19 could have funded Nasa’s planetary exploration programme 18 times. Indeed, it could have funded the Apollo programme twice.

4. Even Malaysia, which is still not considered a developed country, could have funded Nasa’s planetary exploration programme three times using the funds that it has had to spend combatting Covid-19.

5. Where there is a will, there is a way.

Nasa has been focused on space exploration for over 60 years and they have been unwavering in their commitment and ambition. They have sought out funding, I suspect through some tough times to justify space exploration, wherever they can, and they have had spectacular success. The amount that they have spent now appears more reasonable than it might have first looked, when compared to some other high-ticket items, such as Covid-19.

We have focused on the UK and Malaysia but they, along with many other governments, could have funded the Nasa programme many times over using the money that they were forced to find in order to fight the global pandemic.

Final thoughts

In the context of Nasa and Covid-19, it is very easy to cherry-pick the numbers, and present the comparisons that I have. I could carry on and do this for many other aspects of our lives and draw conclusions. That may be useful, but the main reason for writing this article is to draw out the fact that there is funding available for initiatives that we believe are valuable and/or necessary. Whether that is exploring space or responding to a worldwide pandemic. Where there is a will, there is a way.

The world faces many other problems, not least of all those outlined in the United nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals that aim to address some of the world’s most challenging problems by 2030.

However, we cannot rely on governments to fund everything that we want or need to achieve. To address some of the world’s most pressing problems requires government, corporate and personal responsibility. This is something that we want to have more debate and discussion about in the future. –

The Vibes, March 8, 2021

Professor Graham Kendall is Good Capitalism Forum chief executive...

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Dah daftar di sini


Menurut Buku Program Imunisasi Covid-19 Kebangsaan yang dikeluarkan Jawatankuasa Khas Jaminan Akses Bekalan Vaksin Covid-19 (JKJAV) hari ini, dua kaedah secara dalam talian adalah pendaftaran menerusi aplikasi MySejahtera atau laman sesawang khas di www.vaksincovid.gov.my.

Bagi pendaftaran secara manual pula, terdapat tiga kaedah yang membolehkan orang ramai mendaftar iaitu dengan menghubungi talian hotline (akan dimaklumkan kemudian), hadir ke fasiliti klinik kesihatan awam dan swasta atau menerusi program bantuan bagi penduduk di kawasan luar bandar dan pedalaman.- HMetro