If you got your vaccine appointment, please confirm attendance: KJ

 

Almost 60 percent of those who have received their vaccination appointments under phase two of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme have yet to indicate whether they will attend the appointment or not, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said.

Khairy urged the 18,215 individuals, out of the 31,776 who have been given their vaccination appointments under phase two, to confirm whether they will attend their appointments.

“If you have received your appointment date through the MySejahtera app or SMS, please answer so we can coordinate at the vaccination centre.

“If we do not know how many people are coming, vaccine doses might get wasted. We might not prepare enough vaccine or we may bring too many vaccine doses,” Khairy said.

He was speaking at a joint press conference today with Health Minister Dr Adham Baba about the progress of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, which was held in Putrajaya and broadcast online.

Khairy (photo, above) also revealed that out of the 31,776 people who have received their phase two appointments, 13,218 people have said they will attend whereas 343 rejected their appointments.

The small group of people who rejected their appointments will be given a second appointment later, he said.

“They will get a second appointment. If they still refuse to go, we will investigate why they do not want to go for their appointments.

“If they accept (their second appointments), that means the conclusion is that the (first) date wasn’t suitable for them,” he said.

Meanwhile, Khairy addressed concerns about China’s Sinovac vaccine, which has been approved for use in Malaysia for those above the age of 60.

China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention director Gao Fu had reportedly acknowledged today that their current vaccines offer low protection against Covid-19.

Khairy said the vaccine committee has reviewed the data for Sinovac and it has decided to use it for senior citizens based on the Brazil trials.

The data from those trials show that the Sinovac vaccine is 83.7 percent effective for moderate cases of Covid-19 and 100 percent effective for severe cases, he said.

“So, this vaccine is effective in preventing severe cases of Covid-19 and this is what we want in phase two for senior citizens.

“So, if we can give 100 percent protection against severe cases, which Sinovac does provide, then it is something we need to continue to use,” he explained.

Khairy also reiterated that the current vaccination rate, which some have criticised for being too slow, is based on the current slow vaccine delivery schedule from the companies.

He reminded that Malaysia is set to receive an increased supply of vaccines starting in June, which was part of its negotiations with the companies.

“This is because the global supply chain (for vaccines) is facing all sorts of challenges.

“The greedy attitude from developed countries… who have bought and ordered vaccine supplies at such bulk that they have enough vaccines for five times their population… is one of the reasons why developing countries like Malaysia and even Australia are facing vaccine supply issues,” Khairy said.

The issue with vaccine supply is also preventing Putrajaya from involving members of the press in the vaccination programme, he said.

“We have already agreed to add media to the list of priority but the problem now is with vaccine supply.

“So, when the supply is enough, we will involve the media,” Khairy said, with Adham adding that the Health Ministry now supports treating the media as frontliners. - Mkini