COMMENT | The vaccine, migrant workers and herd immunity

COMMENT | There is an ongoing discussion in Malaysia whether we should offer Covid-19 vaccination to migrant workers in Malaysia free of charge.

Some Malaysians are indignant that our tax money might be used to subsidise these migrants, especially those who are undocumented. Others argue for free Covid-19 vaccination for migrant workers based on human rights principles and the pragmatic grounds that we need to do so to achieve herd immunity.

But has anyone done a survey as to what migrant workers themselves think? Are they waiting with bated breath for the vaccine? I seriously doubt it. Because for them, Covid-19 isn’t as serious a threat as it is for Malaysians.

Migrant workers are, on the whole, fairly healthy adults between the age of 20 and 50 years. The chance of them dying of Covid-19 is very low...