KUALA LUMPUR – The Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) should permit 18-year-olds to be vaccinated based on their year, and not exact date, of birth, said Datuk Noraini Ahmad.
The higher education minister said this is to enable those born between September and December 2003, and who have received admission offers from institutions of higher learning, to get the jab.
“I take note of the issue of students not being allowed to get vaccinated at PPVs (vaccination centres) on the grounds that they are not yet 18 years old.
“This situation certainly poses difficulties to students who want to return to campus,” she said in a tweet this evening.
Noraini said she has ordered Higher Education Director-General Prof Datuk Husaini Omar to submit a formal application to CITF seeking a relaxation of the age limit.
Saya mengambil maklum isu di mana pelajar tidak dibenarkan mendapat vaksinasi oleh pihak PPV dengan alasan umur mereka belum mencukupi umur 18 tahun.
— Dato Dr Noraini Ahmad (@DrNorainiAhmad) September 13, 2021
Keadaan ini pastinya menimbulkan kesukaran kepada anak-anak pelajar yang mahu kembali ke kampus. https://t.co/ji2oPttwBZ
Yesterday, she said university students who have not received both Covid-19 vaccine doses will not be allowed on campus.
The Parit Sulong MP said these students will have to follow their lessons entirely online, and can attend in-person classes only when they are fully immunised.
Data from the Health Ministry showed that nearly 250,000 varsity students have yet to register for vaccination.
It said based on checks with the Higher Education Ministry, some 195,000 students at public institutions of higher learning, or 37.5%, do not have Covid-19 vaccination records. The figure stands at 51,000 (10.2%) for students at private institutions. – The Vibes, September 13, 2021
