More than 100,000 children in Kelantan unregistered for vaccines

 

The Kelantan state health department recorded a total of 5,000 children aged five to 11 who have registered to receive the Covid-19 vaccines under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (NIPKids).

This figure is only 4.34 percent of the total 115,000 children eligible to receive the vaccine in the state.

Department director Dr Zaini Hussin said they needed to work harder to convince parents of the importance of vaccination as an effort to prevent Covid-19.

“Out of the total - more than 115,000 - children eligible to receive the vaccine, we are targeting 50 percent of children to receive the Pfizer vaccine, starting today.

“Yesterday we received information from the state education department that the number of children who agreed to receive the vaccine was only 5,000 people.

"Most parents are also said to have not submitted the vaccination registration form to the schools. We hope more people will agree after this," he said at a press conference after officiating the Kelantan NIPKids in Kota Bharu today.

Wait-and-see approach

Zaini also said the department believed that most parents are taking a wait-and-see approach before allowing their children to receive the vaccine.

He explained that under NIPKids, the department provided more than 400 vaccination centres (PPV) throughout Kelantan, including at private schools.

“However, the number of PPV also depends on the response to NIPKids.

“For parents who initially disagreed (consenting their children to receive the vaccine), but have changed their mind, they can 'walk-in' to any PPV to receive the vaccine," he said. - Mkini