KUALA LUMPUR (March 3): Malaysia’s Covid-19 case fatality rate (CFR) is rising but still lower from the Delta wave, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin (pictured) has said.
In a tweet Thursday, March 3, he said it also proved the vaccine was highly effective in protecting recipients from adverse effects of Covid-19 such as death and admission to an intensive care unit (ICU).
“Why is the CFR lower (than during the Delta wave)? Because the majority of cases were not severe. Despite the peak in the number of cases, the (number of) severe cases only showed “a slight increase. At the latest, for every 100,000 cases, 200 deaths have been recorded,” he tweeted.
According to the Ministry of Health (MOH) GitHub portal, 115 Covid-19 deaths were recorded on Wednesday March 2, with Johor being the highest with 25 cases, followed by Sabah with 24, Selangor (18), Kedah and Negeri. Sembilan (eight each) and Perak (seven).
Six deaths have been recorded in Pahang and Kuala Lumpur, Kelantan (four), Penang (three), two in Melaka and Perlis, and one in Sarawak and Terengganu.
Khairy also shared the graph showing the number of deaths per 100,000 population from February 17 to March 2, which revealed that the number of deaths involving people aged 80 and over who were not vaccinated and had not received the booster dose was relatively higher compared to those who did.
“It was clear (from the table) that the booster dose can protect the elderly from death due to Covid-19.
“That’s why our strategy now is to protect people in the high-risk group, like the elderly,” he said.
Khairy also said that the number of reported death cases (BID) was also increasing and that of the 113 BID cases analyzed from February 5 to 21, only 9% were known Covid-19 patients, while the 91 % remaining only tested positive after death.
“It is important for people at high risk like the elderly and those with comorbidities to receive the booster dose.
“Families and communities are also encouraged to monitor the health status of older people. If they show symptoms of fever or cough, take them to the doctor. Please,” he tweeted.