GEORGE TOWN – The Health Ministry should emulate Singapore in giving people the choice to decide which Covid-19 vaccine they want amid concerns raised over their respective efficacies.
Kebun Bunga assemblyman Jason Ong said on his social media pages that Malaysians who have yet to receive their jabs should be allowed to dictate the type of vaccine they want.
He added that the options should be vaccines already approved by the government.
So far, the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency has granted approvals for Pfizer-BioNTech and China’s Sinovac. The AstraZeneca vaccine is undergoing review after claims of blood clots in some of its recipients.
“We have a lot of confusion among the people now due to an overload of information about the vaccines. So, the least we can do is allow the public to decide for themselves what they want.”
He said by allowing the recipients to choose, it negates concerns about indemnity clauses and legal concerns over whether patient rights are being overlooked in the rush to achieve herd immunity in the community.
Lawyers for Justice movement coordinator S. Raveentharan said authorities should not disregard the concerns expressed by prospective recipients.
He added that if there are mounting side effects from the jabs, health authorities must brace themselves for a litany of legal challenges.
He said it is best if authorities expand on information dissemination campaigns about the jabs.
However, for Dr Parmjit Singh, president of Penang Medical Practitioners’ Society, vaccine selection should be left entirely to the ministry to ensure and effective roll-out and inoculation programme.
“No one should be allowed to choose vaccines. I am sure the ministry will know which vaccine (that has no adverse effects) should be administered.”
The focus should now be on getting registered for the vaccine, he added. – The Vibes, April 16, 2021
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