In a joint statement, former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin stressed the importance of Malaysians taking the threat of Covid-19 seriously and being prepared for the possibility of an outbreak. He also congratulated the recently appointed Health Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad, wishing him success in his familiar role.
Khairy and former deputy international trade and industry minister Ong Kian Ming emphasized the need for measures to prepare for a prolonged surge in Covid-19 cases, which had reached a yearly high of 29,129 cases on December 11. Among their suggestions was to reinstate the Test, Report, Isolate, Inform, Seek (TRIIS) framework to alert the public to take preventive measures.
They also urged the Health Ministry to recommend booster shots, especially for vulnerable groups, and to work with the Finance Ministry in transparently procuring the latest variants of booster vaccines from the market. Furthermore, they emphasized the need to reactivate the vaccination ecosystem through private and public clinics and hospitals.
Another measure they recommended was resuming the use of MySejahtera for reporting and monitoring Covid-19 patients. Additionally, they advised the Health Ministry to deploy its data analytics team or work with others with data analytics capabilities to analyze new Covid-19 data and look for new patterns of outbreaks based on location, workplace, and other patient demographics.
