SOPs should still apply to fully vaccinated workers in Malaysia

The standard operating procedures (SOPs) should still apply to workers who have received the full doses of their COVID-19 vaccinations as there is no guarantee that they would be fully protected from COVID-19, said Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) president Datuk Syed Hussain Syed Husman.

“Based on the experiences of other countries thus far, fully vaccinated individuals are allowed to move freely and that those infected suffered less severely, not requiring intensive care and thus do not overburden the public health system,” he said.

“But, there is no clinical evidence [yet] to show that those who received two doses of the vaccine would be free from COVID-19 as the mutations and emergence of new and more virulent variants had no clinical evidence to show that the vaccines would be effective protection,” he said in a statement. 

He added that MEF is concerned for the safety and health of all employees, including those who have received their vaccinations, and proposed that the government set up a platform to record, monitor and report related adverse events.

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“We are of the view that the proposed guidelines for those who received two vaccine doses should be subjected to SOPs and should not discriminate [against] individuals who have not yet received two doses of the vaccine to avoid human rights violations, legal complications and negative social control policies,” he added.