KOTA KINABALU – The Sabah government’s Covid-19 spokesman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun has issued a plea for parents to get their children vaccinated in view of the low inoculation rate among those aged 5 to 11 in the state.
The local government and housing minister said parents are not convinced over the safety of the vaccines.
“We noticed that there are some concerns raised by Sabah parents, although the adult population in the state is already convinced over the effectiveness of the vaccines,” he said.
“The health authorities will not be giving any doses without any research and studies. We have to have faith as the current dose for children is only a third of the dose given to adults,” he added.
He expressed concern on the rising number of infections among children.
He said this after the launch of the Covid-19 National Children’s Immunisation Programme (PICKids) programme at the Likas Women and Children Hospital here today. The event was officiated by Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor.
Masidi had expressed disappointment yesterday about the low rate of vaccination among children.
He said the take-up is too low, considering that the high risk of infections and a high number of children aged below 11 are being infected with the virus daily.
A total of 411,400 children are eligible to be vaccinated in Sabah, while a total of 145 walk-in PPVs have been opened in the state.
Out of the number, 32,186 children aged five to 12 are registered via the MySejahtera app under PICKids.
Only 9,686 or about 7% of them have already been jabbed since PICKids was launched in Sabah on February 3.
Sabah health authorities to date have reported only two cases of minor side effects from the vaccine, involving a nine-year-old in Keningan and an 11-year-old in Pitas.
The side effects include minor fever and also itchiness.
However, Masidi said the number of those affected is too small compared to the overall number of those who have already been vaccinated.
He reiterated that the vaccine does not provide total protection against the coronavirus, but it is proven to have been able to avoid serious infections.
The PICKids programme in Sabah has been expanded to 145 PPVs involving 109 clinics, 22 hospitals, 18 private clinics and four public inoculation centres statewide.
On the issue of vaccinating teachers and school staff, Masidi said he is aware of the presence of vaccine hesitancy among them.
“But we hope they would understand the implications of them refusing to take the vaccines and booster shots,” he said.
Sabah Education Department director Datuk Mistrine Radin did not respond to questions over the presence of teachers still refusing to take the booster shot. – The Vibes, February 15, 2022
