No antibodies after two Sinovac doses, trio claim
Published on: Tuesday, August 03, 2021
By: FMT
File photo for general illustration: Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Three individuals, including a lawyer, who have received two doses of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine, have claimed that they have tested negative for antibodies.
The lawyer, Varpal Singh Sagoo, said he received his first dose on May 29 and his second on June 19.
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“Despite having received two doses of the Sinovac vaccine, a Covid antibody test conducted by a pathology lab turned up negative,” he claimed.
Varpal, 60, said he had full faith in the nurses who administered the vaccination and did not ask to see the syringe and neither was he shown the contents before or after the exercise.
“I did not experience any side effects or reaction after each dose except for some pain in the arm,” he told FMT.
However, after learning of incidents of ‘blank jabs’ being administered and due to the absence of any side effects, he decided to go for an antibody test on July 21 – 33 days after his second dose.
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He said the nucleocapsid protein test reported a non-reactive or negative result, meaning there were no antibodies present.
He said he now had doubts about whether he is protected against the virus and more importantly, against the different variants, especially the Delta.
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“I will seek clarification from the health, and science, technology and innovation ministries,” he said.
In a separate case, an IT manager from Subang Jaya is unsure who to turn to after his 70-year-old mother, who also received two doses of the Sinovac vaccine, tested negative for antibodies.
Ken told FMT his mother, who has hypertension, received her first dose on June 8 and her second on June 29.
However, after reading news reports about people claiming to have been injected with empty syringes, she took an antibody test at a health screening facility in Subang Jaya on July 27, which returned negative.
“My question now is, what should we do?” asked Ken. “The doctor didn’t say what we should do next. He just said my mother was negative for Covid-19 antibodies.
“I remember reading somewhere that people who don’t have antibodies can make another appointment for a vaccine, but I’m not sure how to do this.
“I called the MySejahtera hotline and they said they don’t have any directives on what to do in these kind of instances.”
While Ken said he has his doubts about the accuracy of the antibody test, a check on the health screening facility’s website states that the test is approved by the Medical Device Authority, a government agency under the health ministry.
It is also endorsed by the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) and the National Public Health Laboratory (MKAK).
Internationally, the test has received emergency use authorisation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and has received the CE Mark, which allows it to be used in the European Union.
In another incident, a fully vaccinated woman in Klang, who also decided to go for an antibody test, claimed the results showed that no antibodies were present in her blood.
In a letter to the director of the Klang district health office and health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, her lawyer said she received her first vaccine dose on May 19 and her second dose on June 9 at two different venues.
Copies of the woman’s digital vaccination certificate and her test result were attached to the letter.
“In view of the above, we hereby request that a second set of vaccination by Pfizer be provided to our client without any delay,” said the lawyer.
FMT has confirmed the veracity of the letter with the lawyer, who wishes to remain anonymous.
There had been several reports of people claiming to have been vaccinated with ’empty’ syringes last month. On July 23, vaccination minister Khairy Jamaluddin said that of the 16 million vaccine jabs given up until then, there were only 13 police reports from people who alleged they were given placebo vaccines, or none at all.
Khairy said the majority of the allegations were proven to be false, a misunderstanding or inconclusive, with some claims coming from people who thought they did not get a vaccine as they did not feel any side effects.
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