PUTRAJAYA – The government has spent almost RM2.8 trillion on national immunisation programmes since 1957, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.
He said this is proof of the government’s commitment to increase health protection for Malaysians and achieve herd immunity to curb the spread of diseases, such as polio and tuberculosis.
In his speech when opening the national-level Immunisation Day at the ministry here, Dr Adham said immunisation programmes introduced by the government, especially for children, will continue despite the nation facing challenges due to Covid-19 and the movement curbs imposed to control the disease.
“Currently, immunisation coverage for infants and children is high, achieving the target set by the World Health Organisation, which is more than 95% for most major vaccines in the immunisation programmes.”
Emphasising the importance of vaccination, he cited as an example national astronaut Datuk Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, who underwent intensive training before being selected as a candidate for the International Space Station (ISS) in 2007.
“He was chosen because he is healthy and has strong immunity. Imagine if he was not vaccinated. He might not have passed the prescribed tests, and that would have prevented him from going to the ISS.”
On the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, Dr Adham said of last Sunday, 78% of frontliners had received both doses of the jab under Phase 1, and 65,224 individuals had been given the first dose under Phase 2. – Bernama, April 27, 2021
.jpg)
.jpg)
