Rope in private healthcare to hasten vaccination, rights group tells govt

 

Frontliners lining up to get vaccinated at the Malaysian Agricultural Exposition Park Integrated Quarantine and Treatment Centre in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

PETALING JAYA: A rights group has called on the government to rope in private healthcare providers to hasten its vaccination efforts.

The Centre for A Better Tomorrow (Cenbet) also urged the government to make use of the 9,000 private clinics and hospitals to relieve the pressure on public healthcare.

In a media statement, Cenbet co-president Gan Ping Sieu said the vaccine rollout could be much faster if both public and private healthcare could synergise their efforts.

“The Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia has openly appealed to the government to include them in the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.

“They have publicly announced that they are willing to procure vaccines from different sources once approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).”

Gan said that sidelining private healthcare will only delay the nation’s recovery from the pandemic.

“Business leaders, entrepreneurs and even essential workers should have the option to access vaccination earlier — at their own cost.”

He also urged the government to fully disclose its vaccination plans and report its progress for the public to see.

“It may take a couple of months for the shortage of vaccines to be addressed globally but we need to be prepared when the vaccine supply chain catches up.” - FMT