Malaysia To Receive First Vaccine Batch By February 21

Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin

Putrajaya is set to receive the first batch of vaccines on February 21.

Speaking at the launch of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme handbook, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the immunisation plan encompasses the vaccine supply, vaccination phase target group, location, and method of implementation, as well as the workforce involved in the implementation of the immunisation programme.

The handbook contains information on the types of Covid-19 vaccine used by the government, the facilities provided to store the vaccines, religious views on the vaccination and immunisation guidelines, among others.

Additionally, registration for the Covid-19 vaccination for members of the public is expected to kick off in March and will be on a voluntary basis.

The Phase Of Vaccination

The first phase will involve 500,000 health and non-health (essential services) frontliners and is expected to begin at the end of February until the end of April.

The second phase will involve Covid-19 high-risk groups, namely senior citizens, vulnerable individuals with comorbidities and disabled persons. This phase also involves the same group in phase one. This is expected to go on from April to August, involving around 9.4 million people.

The third phase of the programme will involve adults aged 18 and above, who will be given the jabs from May to February 2022, running concurrently with the second phase with the aim to vaccinate 13.7 million Malaysians.

Only adults, aged 18 and above will be vaccinated as most of the clinical trials for the vaccines encompasses volunteers only from the same age group. However, the government is considered to vaccinate children as there are some vaccination companies that will do clinical trials on children soon.

The priority for this phase will be given to red zones and yellow zones with green zones to follow and the objective is to control Covid-19 in the community.

According to Thomson Reuters, a country that has run the vaccination process to 600,000 population has reported the effectiveness of vaccination which shows a 94 percent decrease in Covid-19 infection.

As a safety net, Putrajaya will avoid vaccinating individuals with severe allergies, pregnant individuals and nursing mothers, Covid-19 positive individuals and individuals with immune system problems with the Ministry of Health (MOH) to update on the vaccination on these groups of people.

The Vaccination Process

Under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, the execution of the vaccination will be prioritised to the target groups for each phase until the relay and the monitoring of the vaccination.

The process will be handled automatically via the MySejahtera app and the official website. As for the manual process it is for the ones who do not have access to the app.

The vaccination will be on a voluntary basis to gain the targeted herd immunisation in the country.

To start the vaccination process, the public will need to register in the MySejahtera app, or the official website and the volunteers will receive their date appointments for the Vaccine Administration Centre (PPV) they [volunteers] must attend.

On the other hand, for those who cannot access the app, volunteers can call the hotline or register at the nearest government clinic. In more extreme cases, there will be outreach programmes initiated by the government for the vaccination process.

After the registration is finished, the PPV will provide a consultation and a permission form to the receivers of the vaccines. Then, the first jab will be given and, after 30 minutes of observation, the volunteers will obtain a vaccine card.

MOH officials will be observing the Covid-19 Adverse Drug Reactions after Immunisation (AEFI) after receiving the first dose.

Upon getting the second jab, volunteers will receive the second appointment for the vaccination, and, after the jab and the 30 minutes observation, volunteers will receive the Digital Vaccine Immunisation Certificate.

Any AEFI can be reported to any nearest medical facilities, through the MySejahtera app or to the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency’s (NPRA) website. One jab vaccination process (CanSinoBio vaccine) ends after the first AEFI observation.

Vaccination will be conducted at 605 PPV that was identified by MOH. Temporary PPV such as stadiums, convention centres, public halls, universities and suitable facilities will also be opened as needed. This location will be updated from time to time.

The integrated platform includes Pharmacy Information System (PhIS & CPS), Vaccine Management System (VMS), MySejahtera, and the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme dashboard are adopted to ensure efficient implementation as well as real-time monitoring.

Vaccine delivery and storage involves multiple integrated operations government agencies through MOH, Malaysian Armed Force (MAF) and the other government authorities.

Side Effects Of The Vaccines

The side effects of the Covid-19 vaccine are mild and are temporary according to the government. Some of the symptoms are fatigue, fever, and headaches.

AEFI will be executed with enhanced surveillance whereby the volunteers will receive scheduled notifications on MySejahtera to report any AEFI the volunteers experienced. Reports can also be done by health workers through the same system.

Investigation for serious AEFI cases will be carried out, where a special committee of experts established to assess AEFI cases and security issues related to the Covid-19 vaccine.

Advocacy and support services will help the community to understand the details and information regarding the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme. The government will introduce the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme Official Line to answer any questions on the vaccination.

Visit https://www.vaksincovid.gov.my/ for information on the vaccination programme in the country.

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