PUTRAJAYA – The Health Ministry will start to administer Covid-19 booster shots to individuals aged 60 and up, as well as frontliners, who have completed their vaccination at least six months ago, said Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
“Individuals who are eligible will be informed via the MySejahtera app. For those who do not have MySejahtera, they will be notified by the vaccination centre via SMS or phone call,” he said in a statement today.
The booster shot is meant for fully inoculated people who experience waning immunity after some time.
Khairy said the shots are free and will be administered on a voluntary basis under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.
He said private clinics will administer the doses to frontliners and senior citizens.
Government health facilities will do so for health personnel, and the armed forces for their own frontliners, he said.
Private healthcare personnel can get the booster shot from their respective facilities, subject to the state Health Department’s nod.
Khairy said those who received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will get the same brand for their booster shot.
The additional dose will be given to immunocompromised individuals, such as cancer patients, organ recipients, and kidney patients undergoing dialysis.
“The extra dose will be given at least 28 days after their completed vaccination,” said Khairy.
He added that the ministry will start a study on heterologous vaccination – where different brands are used – for the booster shot.
The study will be carried out in Sarawak next month, he said, and extended to other states after getting Medical Research Ethics Committee approval.
As of yesterday, 94.9% of Malaysia’s adult population had received at least one dose, while 90.6% was fully vaccinated. – Bernama, October 13, 2021
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