Antivaxxers have been actively spreading fake news in regards to the booster shot. This applies even more toMinister of Health Khairy Jamaluddin who has had the spotlight on him with his every move being scrutinised by antivaxxers.
Recently, a short clip of a live streamed speech made by Khairy went viral as he had apparently said that healthy individuals do not require Covid-19 vaccine boosters.
In the clip, Khairy said, “I took Sinovac quite late, so I don’t need the booster yet. But this is a serious answer – the booster is only offered to people who should have it.”
“I’m young, I do not have co-morbidities at the moment, so I should not be taking a booster because I would be taking a vaccine from somebody else.”
“So the booster dose should be given to people who, according to experts, can be given the booster – people who are 60 years and older, those with co-morbidities, those who are immunocompromised. The boosters are for those people, not healthy people right now,” he added.
“We are not recommending boosters for healthy people right now. It’s just for certain groups that we are giving the booster dose,” said Khairy in the clip.
The video recently went viral as antivaxxers claimed that it’s new
The livestream was actually of a press conference at KLIA in September 2021 and during the time, the Covid-19 booster programme had not yet even begun.
However, antivaxxers have spread the video on social media platforms and incited fear which has even resulted in Malaysians opting not to get their booster doses.
The press conference was actually held a day after the announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri, that Malaysia will start administering the Covid-19 booster dose after the nationwide vaccination rate exceeds 80% of the adult population.
During the time, we had a limited supply of the vaccine and studies also showed that fully-vaccinated people still had good protection against Covid-19.
Hence, the announcement by Khairy was that priority should be given to priority groups who are most at risk such as frontliners and those above 60 years old.
KKM releases statement of clarification
After all the of attention that the short clip has gathered on social media, KKM has issued a statement clarifying the video.
“KKM has taken note of a video of the Minister of Health’s press conference regarding the third dose.”
Terima kasih atas keprihatinan. Sebagai makluman, isu ini telah dijawab semalam di Facebook rasmi KKM. Dikongsikan pautan ke posting berikut https://t.co/fxVET5h0ee https://t.co/N2Y9aRVUJE pic.twitter.com/XvqPk6kXD0
— KKMalaysia?? (@KKMPutrajaya) January 29, 2022
“During the time, the Covid-19 booster programme had not yet begun. At that time, the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) for the first and second dose was still in full swing,” read the statement.
“The administration of the booster shots is required based on current developments in the monitoring of vaccine efficacy as well as the challenges faced with the emergence of new variants of the Covid-19 virus,” it added.
Should antivaxxers get punished for inciting fear and spreading fake/inaccurate news? Let us know in the comments.
