Fomca: Retail workers should qualify for early Covid-19 vaccination

 

Supermarkets and many other retail outlets have remained on the list of essential services allowed to operate under various phases of the movement control order ever since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic nearly a year ago.

As Malaysia prepares to start its nationwide Covid-19 vaccination programme, the Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (Fomca) has urged the government to include retail workers as among frontliners qualified for early inoculation.

Fomca president Marimuthu Nadason was responding to the recent Jalan Telawi cluster, first reported last Thursday, involving 21 out of 150 screened supermarket workers. As of yesterday, there were 25 cases reported in the cluster.

"Retail workers are exposed to their customers, including those who may refuse or neglect to follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) such as wearing masks or keeping a one-metre distance from others. This exposes the workers to risk (of Covid-19).

"On the other hand, if for some reason, the workers themselves are infected, especially with no symptoms, they can be a source of infection to other workers and customers. This exposes consumers to risk," said Marimuthu in a statement.

"Fomca urges the authorities to move retail workers to the front of the line for early inoculation.

"While healthcare personnel should certainly be given the highest priority, we would like to suggest that retail workers be also given priority to not only protect themselves but equally important to protect consumers," he stressed.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said this morning that elected representatives would be among the first recipients of the Covid-19 vaccine under Phase 1, which kicks off on Feb 26.

Muhyiddin announced this after unveiling the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme Guidebook.

Of the 500,000 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to be administered in Phase 1, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said that 300,000 would be reserved for medical frontliners.

The other 200,000 vaccines would be allocated for non-medical frontliners like security personnel, welfare officials and politicians.

Aside from the groups mentioned above, Muhyiddin also said the government is open to considering requests from groups like the media and teachers to be vaccinated in Phase 1. - Mkini