Who should be next in line for priority vaccination?

 

Cleaners and migrant workers should be next, says the Malaysian Medical Association. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Who should be next in line to receive priority for Covid-19 vaccination? Two professional groups and a politician have set out their preferences.

It should be foreign workers and cleaners, says the Malaysian Medical Association.

It should be the “productive workforce”, meaning younger people not retirees, says the Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

It should be everyone, says politician Dr Lee Boon Chye, who was deputy health minister in the now-defunct Pakatan Harapan government.

Dr Lee Boon Chye

They made their wishes known when FMT asked for their response to a statement by Khairy Jamaluddin, the minister coordinating the immunisation programme, that new groups of vaccine recipients would be announced on Monday for Phase 2 of the programme.

He said the government was considering opening up more places because of the low number of registrations for vaccination.

At present, Phase 2 covers those who are at high risk of infection, such as senior citizens, the disabled and those who have chronic illnesses. Phase 2 is scheduled to run from April to August. Phase 1, from February to April, covers about 500,000 people who are frontliners.

Those who can open up the economy

Dr M Subramaniam.

MMA president Dr Subramaniam Muniandy said migrant workers should be included because cases are detected almost daily at construction sites and factories. Cleaners were also at high risk as they handled contaminated materials.

Others on his list:

• everyone working in education, customer service, hospitality and tourism, so that the economy can be opened up; and
• doctors in general practice: vaccination for these doctors should be speeded up, as many GPs were involved in mass testing of foreign workers and the general community.

MICCI executive director Shaun Cheah said “younger working people, not retirees, unless they are employers or industrialists” should be vaccinated next, to get the economy going again.

Shaun Cheah.

The vulnerable should be vaccinated but in the meantime they could still be protected by strict adherence to prevention procedures and physical distancing, he said.

However Khairy had said on Thursday that the elderly and other high-risk groups would remain the main target groups in Phase 2.

Everyone who wants it should get it

Dr Lee Boon Chye’s list includes “those whose nature of work involved frequent direct contact with many people” such as those in the food and beverage industry, teachers, reporters, receptionists and barbers, who were at high risk of getting infected, or potentially transmitting the coronavirus.

If vaccine supply was sufficient, everyone who wishes should be vaccinated, he said. “Setting priority by groups would make implementation complicated and should only be done if the supply of vaccines is insufficient and not timely.”

Subramaniam said when the supply of vaccines increases, the government should focus on the logistics of distribution and administration. “The more centres there are, the faster that vaccinations can be carried out, and with that, herd immunity can be achieved.” - FMT