Vaccine demand in Malaysia rises amid regional surge in Covid-19 cases
GEORGE TOWN, Malaysia - Medical practitioners are seeing a renewed interest in vaccination and booster shots, particularly among vulnerable populations, amid a concerning surge in Covid-19 cases in neighbouring countries.
General practitioner Dr Parmjit Singh said the revived interest is in response to locals being highly vigilant given the rising numbers of the new variant of Covid-19 in Thailand and Singapore.
'It is essential for eligible individuals to be up to date with their vaccinations to maintain strong protection, especially against emerging variants,' he said here on June 11.
He also said that while the Covid-19 situation in the country may appear stable, it has not been eradicated.
'Malaysians are encouraged to stay up to date with vaccinations, practise good hygiene, wear masks in crowded or enclosed spaces and seek medical attention if symptoms develop.
'Continued public awareness and responsible behaviour are key to preventing another surge in cases.
'New variants may spread across borders through travel and community interactions,' he said.
Dr Parmjit also said that there is no definitive evidence that dry weather can cause a spike in Covid-19 cases.
'Weather changes can influence human behaviour. People may spend more time indoors in air-conditioned spaces during hot, dry seasons, which could increase the risk of virus transmission.
'The spread of the virus is dependent on factors such as population density, vaccination coverage, public health measures and individual behaviour,' he said.
Penang health committee chairman Daniel Gooi said Penang experienced notable spikes during major holidays or festive periods due to increased travel, relaxed precautions and social gatherings.
'While there is no evidence that dry weather increases Covid-19 transmission, in Malaysia, hot and dry conditions may lead to more indoor gatherings. This could facilitate virus spread,' he said.
It was reported that neighbouring countries like Thailand and Singapore are facing an emergence of subvariants derived from the Omicron strain of Covid-19, which are more contagious, leading to a surge in cases.
Mr Gooi said while cases have dropped in Penang, it is important to remain vigilant as records from Jan 1 to May 31 last year showed 2,714 cases, while 1,594 cases were recorded during the same period this year.
'No deaths have been recorded so far this year, and the state Health Department continues to monitor respiratory-related clusters in Penang.
'High-risk groups (the elderly and persons with chronic illnesses) are advised to avoid crowded indoor areas.
'The vulnerable groups (elderly, comorbidities) are still encouraged to get updated boosters as they can help protect them in case of exposure to those with Covid-19,' he said.
Retired teacher B. Premala, 68, who has been vaccinated and took one booster jab in 2021 as well, said she was not keen on taking a fourth jab.
'I am careful and mask up when I go to crowded places.
'I am aware that because of my age, I am susceptible to viruses, but I am cautious,' she said. THE STAR/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Healthcare innovation: AI-enhanced and enabled, but not AI-decided
How should the healthcare sector deal with the opportunities and risks that come with the tech revolution? Health Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies Ong Ye Kung addressed the issue at the ninth CHI Innovate conference on July 10. The following is an edited text of his speech. With the power of AI in our hands, healthcare institutions need to use it judiciously and deploy it thoughtfully, says Health Minister Ong Ye Kung. The way healthcare uses AI is different from many other industries. We are not overwhelmed by it, in the way AI has disrupted the music, entertainment or transport sectors; or digitalisation has revamped the telecommunications, retail or financial services sector. This is because healthcare is an essential public service that cannot be substituted. It is also highly regulated. This means the determined and heavy hand of clinical governance can possibly keep out disruptive technological changes. In Singapore, we are, of course, not going to do that. On the other hand, healthcare systems around the world are disrupted by a separate force – not of technology, but of nature. And that is demography, and the progressive ageing of our population. Hence, the healthcare sector is in a unique, and I would say, advantageous position. We are confronting the biggest challenge of our generation, which is ageing. We have AI technology on our side, which we are in a position to titrate, introducing it judiciously into our system to help tackle our challenge. This also means healthcare leaders are in a special position to envision the future, mobilise people and synergise human skills and AI to benefit our patients. With that in mind, let me offer a few thoughts on what healthcare leaders need to do. Strategy and Vision First, we need to define and articulate our strategy – how are we serving customers differently? What is the big change? I find the example of PSA Singapore inspiring. I used to oversee the PSA as the minister for transport. 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Where PSA saw opportunity in global supply chain disruptions, we have to contend with changing patient mix due to ageing. More patients are older, with complex multiple conditions. They need preventive care that avoids triggering the conditions, and continual care after they are discharged from hospitals. Both preventive and continual care should be delivered in the community. But today, too much healthcare is still accumulated at the acute hospitals, which is the most expensive, often too late in the course of disease progression, and not necessarily the best setting for patients. The big change we need to bring about in healthcare today is to deliver as much care as possible, especially preventive and continuous care, through the community, by leveraging technology and manpower transformation. If we can do that, healthcare becomes a life companion, which is all round us, and not just delivered in hospitals and clinics. While in Saudi Arabia last year, my host showed me how a team of specialists was congregated in an operations room, attending via telehealth to patients in villages far across the desert. It is a model driven by geographical necessity. In the Netherlands, the company Buurtzorg, which means 'neighbourhood care' in Dutch, is a dominant player in home nursing care. They are organised into small teams of nurses, each taking care of an entire neighbourhood. The nurses are empowered to do many things – from assessing what the resident needs, to tailoring the care plans, to delivering the medical and support services. There are no long chains of command or complex governance frameworks to navigate. When the resident needs help, these nurses respond quickly and effectively. But they are well-supported, with direct access to specialists and nurse coaches in the backend, and an IT system to enable sharing of information. Singapore has demonstrated exciting possibilities to the world too. With Healthier SG, Age Well SG and Community Health Posts firmly in place, we have a springboard to build community care for the future, as a core shift in strategy. Fears, Concerns, Hope and Confidence Second, organisations need to recognise that change instils fear and concern amongst people, and these need to be addressed decisively. For example, workers will immediately worry that technology will render their service redundant. In an industry disrupted by technology and facing an uncertain future, it is better to be honest and forthright with people. But as I mentioned earlier, this is not the scenario in healthcare. We are facing rising patient loads, and technology is a potential saviour. I recall how several years ago, DBS Bank embarked on a major strategy to digitalise all its services. Workers were naturally worried, but the DBS leadership assured their staff that their jobs were safe, and they would instead train workers with new skills to adapt to the changes. In the ensuing years, DBS' share prices soared and at one point it was voted the best bank in the world. Patients and the public may have concerns too. For healthcare to be delivered seamlessly across all settings, and especially in the community, a patient's data needs to be captured and shared amongst healthcare providers whom he sought care from. There will be concerns about cybersecurity, which we are addressing by strengthening IT infrastructure. There will be worries about data privacy. We are therefore enacting new legislation, namely the proposed Health Information Act. Under the Act, beyond various data protection measures, a patient can choose to restrict the sharing of his medical data amongst the healthcare providers he sought care from. This is not an ideal arrangement and will undermine quality of care for the patient. However, by making this choice available, it addresses fears and instils confidence. Based on experience around the world, the number that eventually exercised the restriction has been very low. When there is greater availability of genetic data, there will be public concerns about how the data is used, and whether technology will inadvertently push us across societal ethical lines. The Ministry of Health (MOH) is therefore working on enhancing legislative protections on the use of genetic test information and will be conducting broad public consultation. This will provide greater clarity on what genetic information can be used for, such as for medical treatment, and what it cannot be used for, such as in deciding employment and insurance underwriting. Beyond addressing the fears and concerns arising from technology, we can also usher in hope and confidence about the future. Everyone can be empowered to participate in innovation and leverage technology to do a better job. DBS has managed to achieve this. 3M is also an inspiring example, where its leaders encourage ground-up innovation and allow employees to spend 15 per cent of their time on projects unrelated to their work. That positive culture has turned 3M from a mining company into a diverse manufacturer, including in electronics and healthcare. The Human Core Finally, organisations need to be careful not to devolve their core competencies to technology. As leaders, we also have a role in safeguarding humanity. We welcomed machines that could replace human labour. We applauded when computer software could process reams of paperwork in a moment, substituting human toil. We appreciated technology and servers that multiplied human memory. We were amazed when miniaturisation of computing power revolutionised human communication and perception. But with each advancement in technology, machines edge closer to the human core. We are happy to be relieved of labour, manual calculations, paperwork, even meeting face to face, but should we be happy when AI starts to replace human judgment, creativity, empathy and relationship? We should bear in mind even in the early phases of technological advancement, that are regarded as unmitigated good now, there were profound unintended negative consequences. When machines substituted human labour during the Industrial Revolution, it led to suppression of workers' rights, which in turn gave rise to socialism and nearly triggered World War III. As digital technology revolutionises human communications, it might have also rewired the minds of a generation. The evidence is still being debated, but ask any psychologist or counsellor, and they will tell you stories of how smart devices, video games or social media addiction have inflicted pain on young minds. There is no doubt AI will have a profound impact on society. We just don't know its full extent yet. We have heard warnings about the potential loss of creativity, independent thinking, ability to learn, and the resilience to seek answers to difficult problems. Healthcare, beyond medical knowledge, is all about the qualities of being human. With the power of AI in our hands, healthcare institutions need to use it judiciously and deploy it thoughtfully. Last year, I suggested a basic principle – make sure that healthcare is AI-enhanced and enabled, but not AI-decided. But this is only a general principle, which needs to be interpreted and implemented wisely in healthcare institutions. There is a good example in NHG Health, in the way it uses AI to read X-rays. AI will sieve out the normal readings and close the loop with the patients quickly. Those with abnormal readings will still be attended to by clinicians. That way, healthcare professionals do not lose their core competence. This is also why my current favourite AI use case in healthcare is the systemwide automation of clinical documentation – significant productivity gain, with negligible impact on our core competencies and humanity. I am glad we are having this in-person conference to discuss AI in healthcare. We welcome more human connections and networking, locally and internationally, to figure out how best to seize this opportunity of a lifetime to improve healthcare. To this end, MOH will be the first Asian country to join HealthAI's Global Regulatory Network as one of its Pioneer Countries. HealthAI is a non-profit organisation to help governments implement and strengthen the governance and regulation of AI in the healthcare sector. We will contribute to this effort. Thank you for listening to this speech, written without any AI assistance.
AsiaOne
5 hours ago
- AsiaOne
I thought childbirth was painful. Then I caught my baby's hand, foot and mouth disease, Lifestyle News
Three days before her first birthday, my baby caught the dreaded hand, foot, and mouth disease, also known as HFMD. I knew it'd be pretty bad (babies and mouth ulcers, worst combination ever), but what I didn't expect was how easy it'd be for me, a person in her late 30s, to catch it from her. A quick Google search led to loads of Reddit posts from adults comparing the pain to being dipped in hellfire, but I dismissed this as internet hyperbole and figured that since HFMD was a kids' thing, I'd be back to work after a couple days of low-grade fevers and mild itching. Turns out Reddit was right. HFMD is not mild. HFMD is a medieval plague. It is a biblical pestilence that left me both physically and emotionally scarred. Case in point: it's been more than a month, and I'm still moulting (yes, like a snake). When I saw the news this week about an outbreak of HFMD in Thailand, something clicked: most of the messaging around HFMD centres around how parents can safeguard their kids, but no one talks about how brutal it is — or what it even feels like — to kena the virus yourself. While kids under five might be more prone to catching HFMD, I learnt the hard way that it's certainly not a "kids' thing". Day 1: Denial My symptoms began just as my baby's rashes were starting to fade. Like her, I developed a fever out of nowhere, my temperature spiking to 38 degrees over breakfast. "It can't be HFMD," I told myself, even as my throat began to prickle. Maybe this was just the final vestiges of laryngitis? My voice had sounded funny for two weeks prior to this. There was no way that hadn't afforded me some immunity, right? Only while eating a burger that night did it dawn on me that this was no ordinary sore throat. Every morsel lit my mouth aflame. Even fruits and water made it sting. My husband passed me his all-powerful army torchlight so I could get a closer look — three "whiteheads" on my soft palate. I figured it was Covid again, citing the rise in numbers that month. Days 2: Reality check My fever persisted throughout the night and into the next morning, hovering at 38.3 degrees between doses of paracetamol and ibuprofen. Feeling paranoid, I checked my hands and feet — no rashes, aside from a couple of ambiguous bumps on the side of one finger, but the number of white spots in my throat now numbered eight. I tried eating warm porridge for lunch. Pain sia . Drank room temperature water — might as well have swallowed lava. I called telehealth with my suspicions, but without lesions on my hands and feet, they could only diagnose it as a run-of-the-mill respiratory virus. By then, I'd launched into a full-fledged Reddit spiral, where I gathered that if it was indeed HFMD, days two through five would be the worst. Most people couldn't eat, sleep, walk, talk, or even type without pain. At 2.45pm, I did another mouth blister check — the whitehead-esque ulcers had multiplied to 15, almost double the amount since that morning. At 3.30pm, I studied my hands and feet for what felt like the 100th time that day, and at long last, I received the confirmation I needed: a pale red rash on the soles of my feet. Things only got worse from there. At 9pm, I noticed more bumps appearing on the sides of my fingers. At 11pm, walking started to feel funny, as if I were standing on pins and needles. Our household needed a designated survivor. I banished my husband to the living room, filled my water bottle with cold water — as per the internet's recommendation — and hunkered down for a long night ahead. Days 3 and 4: Prolonged misery The following days were more of the same, except worse. My fever subsided once the rashes appeared, but my throat continued spawning new ulcers by the hour. By the afternoon of Day 3, I counted more than 20 all along my tonsils, my soft palate, my uvula, along the sides of my cheeks, and in the back of my throat. Based on how much it hurt to even swallow saliva, I suspected there were just as many down my throat, far beyond the reaches of hubby's trusty torchlight. That's not even including the small bumps that were starting to form on my tongue, which had since grown swollen and fuzzy, as if I'd burnt it drinking hot soup. Meanwhile, I began to understand why people had compared the pain of the rashes to being dipped in hellfire. My feet, growing increasingly mottled, were unbearably itchy, raw, and hot. My fingertips too: the last time I'd felt pain of that magnitude was after a long afternoon of bouldering, except that this time the stinging pulsed relentlessly, leaving me with little to do but sit on the bed watching hours of Netflix. As if things couldn't get any worse, a spray of red spots along the roof of my mouth erupted into some kind of rash, making it near-impossible for me to talk without feeling like I was gargling a mouthful of bleach. You're probably wondering if there was anything I could've done to expedite my healing or keep the symptoms at bay. To which I answer: Nope! You know things are bad when the GP says "Oh s***" after seeing your feet. He explained to me that since HFMD is a self-limiting virus (i.e. it will go away on its own), that there was nothing I could do but take more painkillers and tahan the symptoms. Days 5-10: The light at the end of the tunnel Reddit was right: Things typically start to turn around between Day 5 and 6. I still had too many ulcers to count, but they felt slightly less raw, which allowed me to finally eat something other than yogurt (more on that later). From there, the symptoms began to abate as quickly as they'd arrived. The rash on my feet got darker, but started hurting less. The blisters on my fingertips began to dry. The white spots in my throat began to shrink. I could go around the house without feeling like I was walking barefoot on hot sand. The recovery stage was more or less bearable, although certainly not pretty. It took about four to five more days for the pain to completely subside, which was followed by an ongoing period of peeling. My tips for surviving HFMD as an adult Ice, ice, baby While conventional wisdom usually calls for warm tea or chicken soup to soothe a sore throat, you'll feel much better when numbing the ulcers with ice cold water. Stock up on ice cream and make sure your fridge has plenty of ice cubes. Same goes for the skin lesions. Soaking your feet and hands in cold water will give you a bit of relief after the burning sensation sets in. Still can't deal with the itching? Try diaper rash cream Slather extra-strength diaper cream — the kind containing zinc oxide — all over your feet, put on your lightest pair of socks, and give yourself permission to spend the day in bed. The best (and worst) foods You'd think that salt would feel awful, but eating anything remotely acidic, like fruits, felt worse. Anything with sugar also triggered the pain, but dairy soothes it, so by Day 3, I was on a steady diet of plain yogurt and yogurt drinks. In a cruel twist of fate, HFMD isn't one of those viruses that curbs your appetite. If anything, I felt weak with hunger because of how little I could eat thanks to the mouth sores. I wanted to gorge down everything in sight, but consuming anything other than cold yogurt and iced water was pure agony. At least I finally managed to shed the last of my pregnancy weight? When can I go back out again? While schools typically disallow kids with HFMD from attending until they've gotten clearance from a doctor, adults with the disease can technically still go to work and to social functions since there's no quarantine order for them. However, if Covid has taught us anything, we should look out for the immunocompromised by lying low until we've recovered. HFMD symptoms typically resolve in 7 to 10 days, and true enough, I only felt up to going out on day 7, and strong enough to work after day 10. Look out for your neighbours, give yourself a chance to get well, and stay home! Preventing HFMD While getting HFMD as a child is almost a rite of passage nowadays, getting it as an adult is pretty avoidable if you practice proper hygiene at home. Once your kid starts showing symptoms, tap into your Covid-era protocols (the last thing you want is to kena while also taking care of a sick kid!). Mask up, wash your hands regularly, and disinfect all surfaces with Clorox once your kid's asleep. Use serving utensils during meals, avoid sharing drinks or food, and save kisses for when everyone's well. [[nid:718823]] This article was first published in .
Straits Times
9 hours ago
- Straits Times
Israeli missile hits Gaza children collecting water, IDF blames malfunction
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A Palestinian boy inspects the site of an Israeli strike that killed Palestinians, gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer JERUSALEM - At least eight Palestinians, most of them children, were killed and more than a dozen others were wounded in central Gaza on Sunday, local officials said, in an Israeli missile strike which the military said missed its intended target. The Israeli military said it had intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant in the area but that a malfunction had caused the missile to fall "dozens of metres from the target". "The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians," it said in a statement, adding that the incident was under review. The strike hit a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, killing six children and injuring 17 others, said Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician at Al-Awda Hospital. Water shortages in Gaza have worsened sharply in recent weeks, with fuel shortages causing desalination and sanitation facilities to close, making people dependent on collection centres where they can fill up their plastic containers. In another attack, Palestinian media reported that a prominent hospital consultant was among 12 people killed by an Israeli strike mid-morning on a busy market in Gaza City. Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday that more than 58,000 people had been killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, with 139 people added to the death toll over the past 24 hours. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Govt will continue to support families, including growing group of seniors: PM Wong at PCF Family Day Singapore From Normal stream to Parliament: 3 Singapore politicians share their journeys World Israeli strikes kill over 40 as truce talks deadlocked, says Gaza civil defence Singapore Segregated recycling bins found to lower contamination rate as more spring up Asia Mahathir discharged from hospital after feeling fatigued during birthday gathering Business 29 Jollibean workers get help from MOM, other agencies, over unpaid salaries Singapore Medics treat 7 after blaze at HDB block lift lobby in Chai Chee Singapore I lost my daughter to Kpod addiction: Father of 19-year-old shares heartbreak and lessons The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its tally, but says over half of those killed are women and children. TALKS BLOCKED Talks aimed at securing a ceasefire appeared to be deadlocked, with the two sides divided over the extent of an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave, Palestinian and Israeli sources said at the weekend. The indirect talks over a U.S. proposal for a 60-day ceasefire were continuing in Doha, but optimism that surfaced last week of a possible deal has largely faded, with both sides accusing each other of intransigence. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages into Gaza. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages there are believed to still be alive. Israel's campaign against Hamas has displaced almost the entire population of more than 2 million people, but Gazans say nowhere is safe in the coastal enclave. Early on Sunday morning, a missile hit a house in Gaza City where a family had moved to after receiving an evacuation order from their home in the southern outskirts. "My aunt, her husband and the children, are gone. What is the fault of the children who died in an ugly bloody massacre at dawn?" said Anas Matar, standing in the rubble of the building. "They came here, and they were hit. There is no safe place in Gaza," he said. REUTERS
