KUALA LUMPUR (April 9): A vaccine for Covid-19 can only be expected in about 12 to 18 months and Malaysia will have to rely on the more medically-advanced countries to develop the treatment, the Covid Research Centre (CRC) said.
In a statement, the new non-profit research and analysis unit under the Asian Heritage Museum Group said the development of a vaccine is out of Malaysia’s control and hence, the nation can only hope for the best.
“Much like many countries around the world, we are sailing in uncharted waters. We have no previous experiences to rely on, in dealing with such a contagious disease of this magnitude.
“We must, therefore, keep an open mind and allow various views and ideas on the policies, practices or approaches needed to be adequately debated in public. No stone must be left unturned,” CRC said.
It highlighted the important role of the mainstream and Internet media in providing a platform for these views, adding that the media must ensure all viable ideas, news and stories are accurately presented, “without fear or favour”.
CRC said Malaysia should rely more on the relatively successful track record of its Asian neighbours, such as China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan, in containing and controlling the spread of the virus, in treating and caring for their patients.
Noting Japan in particular, it said the nation was able to control the situation well with about 1,400 infections to date, despite its highly dense population of 126 million people.
The success of the Japanese lies in their culture of cleanliness and hygiene, said the non-profit unit, highlighting their frequent hand-washing, social distancing and wearing face masks as habits in public places, even when there is no epidemic.
“We should also learn and draw lessons from the weaknesses, failures and mistakes of other countries in dealing with this pandemic, such as unpreparedness, playing divisive and race politics, living in denial, lack of knowledge, skills and experience needed to prevent, contain and control the spread of the virus, and the lack of medical resources needed to treat their patients,” it said.
CRC urged all Malaysians to do their part in dealing with the pandemic, highlighting the importance of prevention, containment and control.
It applauded the government’s imposition of the Movement Control Order (MCO), which it said is an appropriate and necessary measure, despite the huge economic and social costs, as well as the government’s move to seek help from China and South Korea for the supply and technical support for the Covid-19 test kits.
CRC said greater public education is needed on how to properly wash their hands, wear face masks and implement social distancing.
It noted that the advice by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) insist on wearing a face mask now, but pointed out that they have yet to explain their earlier contradictory stance that a face mask would not protect the general public from the virus.
Besides that, the non-profit also urged the people to have a healthy and stress-free lifestyle, along with a nutritional diet to boost their immunity.
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