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KUALA LUMPUR – The collapse of the Perikatan Nasional government has seen Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah leading Malaysia’s efforts to contain Covid-19, including operations at vaccination centres (PPVs) nationwide.
The establishment and running of these centres have long been a bone of contention among lawmakers and the public due to the high costs involved and PPVs’ potential to spark Covid-19 clusters.
Following the resignation of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and his cabinet on Monday, Dr Noor Hisham today affirmed his command of the nation’s pandemic fight.
He confirmed that the government will proceed with the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force’s (CITF) proposal to shutter or relocate PPVs in the Klang Valley, as per a document sighted by The Vibes, from next Monday.
“We will do the needful and perhaps engage with more GPs (general practitioners) to assist in vaccinations,” he told The Vibes.
“Once we have achieved the required coverage, we will move on and focus on other states.”
Asked to confirm the veracity of the document obtained, Dr Noor Hisham said: “We follow the schedule and strategy as planned.”
The closures and relocations affect the majority of the 71 PPVs in 10 districts in the Klang Valley.
At present, Klang has eight PPVs, Gombak (5), Kuala Selangor (3), Kuala Langat (2), Petaling (15), Sabak Bernam (2), Sepang (4), Hulu Langat (12), Hulu Selangor (12) and Kuala Lumpur (8).
While the redistribution of PPVs may help reduce costs and mitigate the risk of clusters emerging due to high traffic at these places, concerns have been raised as to the effectiveness of the plan.
Klang MP Charles Santiago said the proposed closure of the PPV at Dewan Persatuan Hokkien Klang, better known as Hokkien Hall, will leaves his highly populated constituency with only the Hotel Wyndham jab site.
Both mega PPVs each administer an average of 7,000 to 8,000 vaccine doses daily, he said.
Vaccination appointments at the Hokkien Hall PPV will be combined with those at the Soka Gakkai Centre PPV, mainly involving the second shot.
Santiago said having the Hotel Wyndham PPV administer 14,000 to 15,000 doses a day will surely cause congestion at the venue.
“Locals and migrants will also be placed together, which will be a source of conflict.”
He said the government will save on cost by keeping open the Hokkien Hall PPV, which has been operating for less than a month and required RM4 million to set up.
Some workers based there have signed a five-month contract, he said, and enough supplies have been bought to sustain operations throughout that period.
“You’ve already had thousands who got their first dose there, but now, they have to go to a new place for their second dose. We know that many (recipients) might not follow the instruction to not go to Hokkien Hall.
“The authorities need to explain the logic of getting 14,000 people in one place instead of spreading out the number of people so things can be done faster.”
Santiago said the problem in Klang, which has nearly 1.5 million residents, is compounded by a lack of data on the number of individuals who have received their first and/or second dose.
He added that many have not even registered for the jab via MySejahtera.
The lawmaker said he was informed by former vaccination drive coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin that 98% of Klang residents have either made appointments, or received their first or second dose – a figure that Santiago finds questionable.
“They (the government) should not concentrate on only one (mega) PPV in Klang. There might be some vested business interests in this.
“The 98% figure is quite exaggerated. We don’t know how many people have actually turned up. Technically, we are not keeping up with our herd immunity targets.”
Meanwhile, the CITF said in its response to The Vibes that any closure of PPVs in the Klang Valley will be based on data drawn for the needs of the facilities.
It said this would be in line with the rate of vaccinations in the Klang Valley, which has reached more than 70% of adults receiving two doses.
“The CITF is also ensuring that there will be no Malaysians that are left behind in the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.
“For this, the CITF will look into the importance of optimising the use of resources and saving costs, which are being balanced with the need to ensure there are no difficulties faced by the unvaccinated to receive their doses.
“We request the document shared not be used as a reference, as a final decision has yet to be made, and can be changed from time to time,” the CITF said. – The Vibes, August 18, 2021
