The Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (KKMM) has applied for media practitioners to be given priority in phase two of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.
According to Bernama, KKMM Minister, Saifuddin Abdullah has requested that media personnel be given the Covid-19 vaccination jabs.
“I deferred my vaccine jab because I want to be vaccinated together with the media. We have asked for it to be speeded up for media practitioners as they are also frontliners,” he said in a press conference yesterday [April 18].
Meanwhile, 36,000 senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PwD) are expected to get their jabs under phase two of the programme so far.
“They are 25,000 senior citizens and 11,000 from the PwD community. We will also intensify efforts to register the target groups for vaccination through various programmes because some of them lack the knowledge to register,” the Women, Family and Community Development Minister (KPWKM), Rina Mohd Harun said.
She further said that KPWKM was actively helping to get target groups to sign up for vaccination via the MySejahtera application.
On the other hand, Health Minister, Dr. Adham Baba has highlighted that any decisions regarding the closure of schools is made based on the joint assessment by the District Health Office (PKD), Education Ministry (MoE) and the State Government.
“It includes assessments on cases that involve school staff and students who have to undergo quarantine or Home Surveillance Order after they tested positive for Covid-19. However, if the cases only involve students and not school staff, the school can remain open,” he added.
This follows the directive issued by the Kelantan Education Department that all schools and educational institutions in seven districts placed under the Movement Control Order (MCO) to be closed from April 18 until April 24.
Bernama has also reported the phase two vaccination stage for senior citizens, PwD, and those with chronic diseases, will begin on April 19 in eight states.
They will be inoculated at 30 vaccination centres nationwide, namely five each in Kedah, Pahang and Penang, Sabah (four), Terengganu and Melaka (three), Negeri Sembilan (two), and one each in Perlis, Sarawak, and Labuan.
A total of 9,916 individuals aged 75 and above are scheduled to receive the Covid-19 vaccine in the second phase of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.
As of April 17, a total of 1,135,015 individuals have been inoculated for the Covid-19 vaccine during the first phase of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.
