[UPDATED] Kedah teens’ Covid-19 inoculation starts tomorrow: Khairy

KUALA LUMPUR – Teenagers in Kedah will begin receiving their Covid-19 vaccinations tomorrow onwards, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

He said there are more than 180,000 adolescents in the state who will be inoculated at vaccination centres (PPVs) across Kedah.

“The vaccine supplies are sufficient, and we hope to complete this in a month,” he told a press conference after holding a meeting with the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) in Wisma Darul Aman, Alor Star, this afternoon.

Khairy added that the administration of booster shots is expected to kick off next month.

“As mentioned by the prime minister, the implementation policy (for general booster shots) will be announced soon but we have identified the vulnerable and high-risk groups that will be prioritised.

“Among them are senior citizens who have comorbidities or chronic illnesses, frontliners who have illnesses or are high-risk, those with weak immune systems, and those who are working at retirement homes.

“We are prioritising them first and after that, we will open (booster shots) to other groups.”

He added that the ministry is obtaining information from the makers of the booster shots for the jabs to be registered with the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).

“The third doses need to have authorisation from the NPRA as it has only given permission for two doses to the likes of Pfizer-BioNTech and AZ (AstraZeneca) and Sinovac. So now, I have them to send information to the NPRA and I expect the approvals will be made in one or two weeks’ time.”

He added that the decision to allow mix-and-match vaccinations will be determined at a later time.

This comes after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today that the government has agreed to administer Covid-19 vaccination booster shots to select groups of individuals once the country achieves herd immunity among its adult population.

Meanwhile, Khairy said Kedah is a state placed under focus by the Health Ministry, which is aiming to raise the vaccination rate among its adult population.

He added that 17% of the adult population in Kedah have yet to receive their first dose, despite having excess supply of vaccines in the state.

“We want to get this done as soon as possible as we are targeting more than 90% of total vaccinations to have widespread protection.”

He said that the districts of Pendang and Baling are among those behind in vaccinations.

“This is why we need the cooperation of community leaders and district officers to identify those refusing vaccinations.

“There must also be enforcement of SOPs (standard operating procedures) in places, like at mosques, for example, to check if visitors are fully vaccinated. We have to ensure that we enforce all the SOPs and checks so we know who has not been vaccinated.”

Khairy also said 1,510 new oxygen cylinders have been allocated for Kedah, of which 800 will arrive next week, excluding the ones that have already been delivered.

“The ministry has also deployed additional workforce, such as medical officers and nurses, to Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah and Hospital Sultan Abdul Halim to help treat Covid-19 patients.”

The minister said the state Health Department is going to ensure better monitoring of those placed under home quarantine as there are many patients who are out in public despite being high-risk or infected.

He added that this week alone, MySejahtera recorded 523 check-ins of those who were supposed to be under quarantine, most of which were made at supermarkets. 

However, the check-ins, he said, did not reflect the number of people breaking quarantine. – The Vibes, September 19, 2021