GEORGE TOWN – Large crowds converged at five off-site public vaccination centres (PPVs) in Penang yesterday as people showed up in droves for their Covid-19 booster shots after most of them were notified through the MySejahtera app.
This came about after the Health Ministry reduced the waiting time for booster jabs from six months to three in December last year.
A few factors are believed to have led to the surge of crowds, among which are fears over the reportedly highly transmissible Omicron variant.
Some people were unwilling to wait for an appointment, opting instead to walk in.
This caused the lines to grow longer, at the expense of compromising standard operating procedures (SOPs), as physical distancing was hardly observed.
Penang Private Medical Practitioners Society president Dr Parmjit Singh said that the situation could be due to first-day “blues”.
However, he urged the people to abide by the SOPs and follow their appointment schedule.
At the building of the former Equatorial Hotel, where the lobby has been turned into a ProtectHealth PPV, scores of people turned up, some as early as 6am, to get their boosters.
A ProtectHealth spokesperson said that the issue is complicated, as some of the walk-ins were already scheduled for other PPVs and on later dates.
“Some refused to go home as they had waited in line for hours,” he said.
State health exco Dr Norlela Ariffin said that the large turnout was unexpected, as only 40% of those with appointments had come for their boosters on Sunday.
It was due to the low turnout that the health authorities allowed walk-ins, but the sheer number coming today was a surprise to us,” she said yesterday.
She urged those with MySejahtera appointments to wait for their scheduled dates and for PPVs to find ways to expedite their vaccination process.
Another factor which caused the crowding was the rumour mill that some PPVs are administering three booster vaccine brands – Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Sinovac.
Some locations such as Equatorial Hotel were, however, only allowed to dispense Pfizer and AstraZeneca, while some were allotted all three booster vaccines.
Norlela urged the people waiting for their turn to observe the SOPs and be patient.
She said that individuals keen on walk-ins can also go to private hospitals, which are dispensing the same booster shots to the public.
Former state Gerakan leader Goh Kheng Sneah was among those left confused by the process, saying that there needs to be a better system in place and that the authorities should be assisted in ensuring the SOPs are adhered to. – The Vibes, January 4, 2022
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