KUALA LUMPUR – The Health Ministry (MoH) is not to be blamed for the low Covid-19 vaccination rate among children in Sabah, at least according to Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali (Bagan Serai-Bersatu).
Dr Noor Azmi, in the Dewan Rakyat today, said the ministry “worked very hard but there are no arms to be inoculated”, largely due to parents’ reluctance to send their children for the jabs.
“It is true that the percentage of children who have been vaccinated in Sabah is one of the lowest. This does not mean that MoH staffers in Sabah and those involved are not doing their job.
“In fact, they have done a tremendous job. But as what we said, we work very hard, but there are no arms to be injected because parents did not give their consent,” he said, in response to Datuk Zakaria Mohd Edris’ question (Libaran-Bersatu) on what efforts have been taken by the government to conduct the vaccination drive in Sabah.
Throughout the Covid-19 vaccination programme, Dr Noor Azmi said Terengganu, Kelantan and Sabah have been lagging far behind in vaccination rates for children.
“For example, in Kelantan it is only 15%, Terengganu (20%) and Sabah (34%). There are the lowest three states in giving Covid-19 vaccinations to their children.
“These states have not reached the 50% vaccination rate for children.”
He then persuaded parents to bring their children to be immunised against Covid-19 following the surge in cases nationwide. – The Vibes, July 28, 2022
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