‘A stronger push towards wider vaccination and herd immunity will be key to domestic recovery and should facilitate an economic rebound as emergence of new Covid-19 variants poses high risk, Moody's Analytics economist Sonia Zhu said. Malaysia's economy contracted by 0.5% year-on-year in the March quarter, following a 3.4% slump in the fourth quarter of 2020.
"Despite a gradual easing of gross domestic product (GDP) contractions, conditions will likely stay weak in the coming quarter due to the latest Movement Control Order (MCO)," she said in a statement today... "Hence, a stronger push towards wider vaccination is key," she said, adding that at present, only 3.4% of Malaysia's total population has received at least one dose of a vaccine.
‘The slow vaccination rate casts doubt on the ability to reach herd immunity target by the end of 2021, tilting the balance of risks to the downside for the subsequent quarter, opined Zhu.’
Read here (The Edge, May 14, 2021)
