Opposition MP Christina Liew has proposed that the government enact a new law that criminalises vaccinators who deliberately administer blank Covid-19 shots.
This came as police investigate several such claims.
In a statement yesterday, the PKR Tawau lawmaker said such a law would act as a deterrent.
"It should be deemed a crime for anyone to knowingly and deliberately administer 'empty syringe' vaccine shots.
“The Covid-19 pandemic is a matter of life and death, so don't indulge in foolhardy practices. Vaccinators should not put more citizens' lives at risk by shirking their responsibilities.
“As of July 21, some 7,440 people in Malaysia have already succumbed to the coronavirus. And the country with a population of 32 million, has reportedly surpassed Indonesia and India in Covid-19 deaths per million of the population,” she added.
The former Sabah deputy chief minister also urged newly appointed Sabah Health Director Dr Rose Mudin to take preventive measures to ensure the state does not fall prey to vaccine “scams”.
Her PKR colleague Fahmi Fadzil previously called for National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NIP) problems like blank shots and illegal vaccine sales to be debated in Parliament.
Deputy Health Minister Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali recently floated the possibility that fatigued vaccinators were behind blank shot cases but called for “appropriate action” if they were done on purpose.
More transparency, standardisation
Liew further called for more “standardisation” and transparency.
This was especially regarding whether vaccine recipients could document their own vaccination process.
"I understand that some vaccine administration centres (PPVs) allow this (taking photographs) to take place while others prohibit photography,” she said.
In the past month, two people claimed they received blank shots after capturing the process on video. Others with the same claim said they were not allowed to take videos or photographs.
Since May, some PPVs have barred recipients from recording their vaccination shots. There is no known official rule on this.
This came after videos surfaced showing some Covid-19 vaccine recipients getting underdosed.
Following the incident, the government issued a directive on May 24 compelling all vaccinators to show recipients the syringe before and after a jab.
This “no photo, no video” rule has come under the spotlight again following the recent blank shot cases. - Mkini
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