New ways to register for Covid-19 vaccination, 2m sign up so far

 

The Special Committee on Covid-19 Vaccine Supply (JKJAV) has introduced two new ways for members of the public to sign up for Covid-19 vaccination, supplementing the existing method of registering via the MySejahtera mobile app.

People may now register through the JKJAV website available in Bahasa Malaysia and English and is furnished with information about the vaccination campaign.

Alternatively, they can sign up by calling the number 1800-888-828.

The two new methods were announced by JKJAV through its social media channels this afternoon.

Meanwhile, it said the number of people that have registered for vaccination has exceeded two million, with a total of 2,024,356 registrations as of 3pm today.

Registration was opened to the public just 10 days ago, on Feb 23, and it reached the first million registrations on Feb 26.

However, the number is only 6.33 percent of Malaysia’s population of 32 million people. 

The government is hoping to vaccinate at least 70 percent of the population by February next year to achieve herd immunity against the disease and protect those who are unable to receive the vaccine.

The JKJAV also said 99,616 people have received their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Comirnaty as of yesterday.

The number is highest in Sarawak with 14,134 people vaccinated, followed by Kelantan (10,941) and Kuala Lumpur (10,970).

Phase One of the vaccination kicked off on Feb 24 and targets primarily frontliners tackling the pandemic, although MPs and state assemblypersons are eligible as well.

This phase will continue until April, targeting 500,000 people.

Phase Two from April until August will target 9.4 million people, including remaining healthcare and essential services personnel and people at risk of developing severe Covid-19 symptoms, such as senior citizens and people with comorbidities like heart disease, obesity and high blood pressure.

Some vaccine doses may also be used during this phase to help contain sudden outbreaks of the disease.

For Phase Three from May until February next year, the vaccines will be extended to the rest of the adult population in Malaysia, including non-citizens. This phase targets at least 13.7 million people.

So far, Comirnaty has been the only vaccine being deployed in the vaccination campaign, with four other vaccines also in the pipeline.

The Drug Control Authority has granted conditional approval for Covid-19 vaccines developed by AstraZeneca and Sinovac, but additional approvals are still needed before the vaccines can be used in the country.

The National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency is also evaluating a vaccine developed by Russia’s Gamaleya National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology. - Mkini