COVID-19 has had a significant impact on lives and livelihood across the globe. Malaysia has not been spared, with 2.7 million cases and more than 31,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19. The emergence of new Variants of Concern (VOC) such as Delta and Omicron, which are spreading more easily than the original virus, has further escalated the pressing need for preventive measures to be taken immediately to reduce the risk to public health.
To date, statistics from the Ministry of Health showed that 78.4 percent of the Malaysian population had been fully vaccinated and only 17 percent have received their booster dose.
Acting on the urgent need for the port community to be vaccinated with the booster dose, Northport (Malaysia) Bhd (Northport), Westports Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Westports) and iHEAL Medical Centre (iHEAL) have collaborated to jointly organise a COVID-19 Booster Vaccination Programme with the objective of enhancing the immunity of port employees and the Port Klang community against the COVID-19 virus.
The booster vaccination programme, which kicked off on December 17, 2021, will be held for approximately two (2) months at Dewan Kelab Sukan Lembaga Pelabuhan Kelang in Port Klang. In this collaborative programme, Northport and Westports will fund the establishment of the vaccination centre or PPV (Pusat Pemberian Vaksin), while iHEAL, a heart and heart-related hospital licensed by the Ministry of Health Malaysia and appointed as a partner for the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme by Protecthealth Corporation Sdn Bhd, will be responsible to maintain clinical standards and administer the booster shots. The programme has the capacity to administer 2,000 booster shots per day.
The booster vaccination programme is also being extended to the Port Klang local community as part of Northport’s and Westports’ corporate social responsibility initiative to allow the community to get their booster dose at no cost under the National Immunisation Programme. The programme is expected to benefit more than 60,000 port workers and the local community.
Commenting on the programme, Dato’ Azman Shah Mohd Yusof, Chief Executive Officer of Northport said, “Our record shows that the first two (2) doses of vaccine have helped to reduce the number of severe (category 4 and 5) COVID-19 cases among our employees and port users. However, data from other countries which started their vaccination programme earlier than Malaysia, are showing that COVID-19 vaccines are losing their efficacy over a period of time. Therefore, Northport has invited Westports and iHEAL to collaborate and jointly organize the COVID-19 Booster Vaccination Programme. We would also like to thank Lembaga Pelabuhan Kelang for allowing us to use their sports complex facility for this purpose. We believe that this programme will help the Government speed up the process of giving extra protection to the public against COVID-19, while at the same time helping our local community to get their booster shots sooner, at a vaccination facility closer to their residence.”
Meanwhile, the Group Managing Director of Westports, Datuk Ruben Emir Gnanalingam said, “It is crucial for the port workers to be fully vaccinated as the port sector is categorised under the essential services that continue to operate 24 hours 7 days a week to ensure that the national economy and the movement of goods are not interrupted. The emergence of new COVID-19 variants has pushed the need for port workers to be given additional protection against the virus. Therefore, together with Northport and iHEAL, we have collaborated to organize the COVID-19 Booster Vaccination Programme for the port workers as well as for the Port Klang community as part of our corporate social responsibility initiative.”
“We would like to thank Northport and Westports for working with iHEAL in this programme. As a health service providers, it is our desire to make sure that the COVID-19 vaccination is accessible to the majority of the public. Hence, the COVID-19 Booster Vaccination Programme jointly organized with Northport and Westports at an off-site location such as Klang is a great avenue for us to ensure more people receive their booster dose, which in turn will prevent and reduce serious health issues caused by COVID-19,” said Dr David Khoo Sin Keat, the Founder and Medical Director of iHEAL Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur.
Earlier in June this year, Northport, Westports and iHEAL were also involved in the first vaccination programme for the transportation sector, managed by Lembaga Pelabuhan Kelang. The programme successfully administered 2-dose vaccination to more than 10,000 seafarers and port workers in Port Klang.
