PUTRAJAYA – Phase 2 of the national vaccination exercise prioritising the elderly, those with morbidity problems and persons with disabilities, will commence on April 19, said the Covid-19 National Immunisation Programme Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
He said recipients will be notified on their vaccination appointments from April 5, two weeks prior to the appointment date, through the MySejahtera application, phone calls and short messaging system (SMS).
As of yesterday, about two million individuals in the second phase have registered through MySejahtera, out of a target of nine million people, he said.
“While waiting for the registration from the second phase groups and when the supply of vaccines is sufficient, those who have registered under the third phase will be given priority to receive the vaccine.
“If the registration for the second phase is slow, we will not wait. The vaccination process for the third phase will be simplified,” he told a press conference here today.
The third phase involves adults aged 18 and above and is scheduled to start in May.
He said the decision to bring forward the third phase does not mean that the government has given up on those who have yet to register for the second phase.
“If those in Phase 2 are late to register for the vaccination, there is an algorithm in MySejahtera to push them up to the top of the queue to receive the vaccine,” said Khairy, who is also science, technology and innovation minister.
On Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's statement that the government is considering setting a deadline for registration for the Covid-19 vaccine, he said that the proposal is still under discussion.
“If we find that the proposal can have a positive impact on the number of registrations, then an announcement on the date will be made later,” he said.
Thus far, he said a total of 7,235,436 individuals have registered via the MySejahtera app, while 580,765 individuals have been vaccinated under the immunisation exercise.
The top five states for vaccination are Selangor at 75,317 doses, followed by Perak with 59,305 doses, Sarawak (57,034), Sabah (52,223) and Kuala Lumpur (50,512), he said.
Khairy said the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) has identified large-scale vaccination centres to be opened in stadiums and their grounds, and large conference halls.
“They will be set up, especially in big cities, because if we rely on the facilities of the Health Ministry alone, it is not enough,” he said, citing the Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre, which will be used as a vaccination centre, as an example. – Bernama, March 29, 2021
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