80% of AstraZeneca vaccination slots snapped up in 3 hours

KUALA LUMPUR – Less than three hours after it was launched at noon today, the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccination registration slots for Selangor and Kuala Lumpur have been taken up like “pisang goreng panas” (hot banana fritters).

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who is in charge of the roll-out, tweeted that all available dates for appointments at vaccination centres (PPVs) in Universiti Malaya and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia have been fully booked.

About 210,000 appointments have already been registered, with the remaining 50,000 slots expected to be taken up soon.

“UM and UKM slots full. 210k appointments made. Last 50k available,” tweeted Khairy.

Despite the website suffering from extremely heavy traffic minutes after its launch, it was functioning normally soon after.

Earlier, complaints by members of the public on WhatsApp groups arose, with many saying they were unable to register, adding that while options to choose the preferred date and vaccination centre (PPVs) appear, no confirmation is received once they click “Submit”.

“The server is congested. We are aware of the problem but we are rectifying the issue right now,” a Special Committee on Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee official, who requested anonymity, told The Vibes.

Among the issues faced by the public include a message saying: “Sorry, all slots are full but you can still click on the date/PPV to be included in the waiting list.”

This writer also faced a few issues when trying to register on the site.

The first problem encountered was that the dates and PPVs did not appear on the site. However, they materialised after the browser was refreshed.

The second problem occurred after this writer selected the date and location for the vaccine.

It was submitted, but there was no confirmation on whether the application was approved or successful.

This writer received the confirmation only after selecting a different date and location.

The PPVs are at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur; Ideal Convention Centre Shah Alam; Dewan 1, Bangunan Peperiksaan, Universiti Malaya; and, Dewan Gemilang, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

The ministry has promised 286,800 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines will be made available on a voluntary basis in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur after concerns were raised regarding the safety of the vaccine.

Last week, the government announced that the vaccine will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis to residents.

The move was made to address the people’s concerns and fears about the vaccine, apart from not wanting to disrupt the ongoing immunisation programme.

Studies show that the AstraZeneca vaccine has a probability of forming blood clots in one out of every 250,000 individuals, or at 0.0004%, of those inoculated with it. – The Vibes, May 2, 2021