Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Associations Malaysia (FPMPAM) president Dr Steven Chow said there was a need to do this urgently as the community’s immunity was weaker due to “a lower nutritional status”.
“Furthermore, their close family-centered living conditions are ideal for the airborne spread of the virus. Mask-wearing and social distancing are unheard of and impossible in the community,” he told FMT.
Former deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said vaccinations were the key factor to protect the Orang Asli, especially with the Delta variant now on Malaysian shores.
He said the more infectious nature of Delta meant that a large portion of the population would be exposed to Covid-19, whether they were vaccinated or not.
“Vaccination will prevent serious disease and death,” Lee said, adding that the Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee (JKJAV) had prioritised the Orang Asli for the single-dose CanSino and Johnson & Johnson jabs.
This would make it easier to immunise the Orang Asli who live in the interiors and are harder to reach by health ministry personnel.
Chow said there was also a need to increase public health education among the Orang Asli, adding that there were paramedics from the community who could serve as vaccine “ambassadors”.
He said the Orang Asli development department (Jakoa) should engage groups like FPMPAM and others to complement activities to raise awareness in the community and that this would come at no cost to Jakoa.
“What is needed there is sensible precautions rather than strict non-enforceable SOPs. Next, is vaccination access, where NGOs like DrsForAll and FPMPAM can help,” he said.
An Orang Asli activist recently highlighted the alarming spike in Covid-19 cases and deaths within the community over the past month, with infections up by more than 10-fold.
While there were 19 Covid-19 deaths involving Orang Asli as of July 20, Centre for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC) coordinator Colin Nicholas said another 27 have died since then.
At least 60 Orang Asli villages have been placed under the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) lockdowns since the pandemic began.
But Nicholas noted that more Orang Asli communities now appeared to be open to vaccination due to the stepped-up information campaign about vaccines, and as the communities were now seeing first-hand the “speedy ruin” the virus could bring.
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