YBs among first 500,000 recipients

Kuala Lumpur: Members of Parliament (MPs) and state assemblymen will be among the first batch of 500,000 Malaysians to be given the Covid-19 vaccine under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme to kick off on Feb 26.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said this was decided after taking into consideration the nature of work of MPs and state assemblymen, who work closely with people on the ground.

“We have agreed for MPs and state assemblymen, irrespective of the political divide, to be included in the first phase of the immunisation programme. This is to allow them to carry out their duties effectively and in a safe manner,” he told a press conference, Tuesday.

Also present were Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who is also the coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, and Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.

Muhyiddin said he had instructed Khairy and Dr Adham, who jointly chair the Special Committee on Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee, to meet with leaders of all political parties to discuss the matter.

“Insyallah (God Willing), we will implement the programme once the (first batch of the Covid-19) vaccine arrives in the country,” he said.

The prime minister added that the government would also take into consideration requests from other groups such as the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) and National Union of Journalists (NUJ) for their members to be among the first to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.

“We will take into consideration all requests or applications including people in the media industry and of course teachers, who may possibly be defined as frontliners, as well as other groups of people in the community.

“As far as I am concerned, the people in these categories can be given vaccination at the earlier part of the programme due to the nature of their duties and responsibilities, which in every day operations involves (meeting) a lot of people.

“If we believe they will be at risk if they are not vaccinated, we will consider them among the first recipients of the Covid-19,” he said.

Khairy said 300,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been prioritised for medical frontliners and 200,000 doses would be allocated for non-medical frontliners including security personnel, welfare officers as well as politicians under the first phase of the programme.

According to the newly-launched National Covid-19 Immunisation programme handbook, the inoculation plan will be divided into three phases.

The second phase of the programme is expected to see the vaccination of about 9.4 million people between April and Aug this year, consisting of remaining healthcare workers, defence personnel and essential services employees.

High-risk groups will also be part of the programme's second phase. This includes senior citizens aged 65 years old and above, those with chronic diseases such as heart illnesses, obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure, as well as people with disabilities (OKU).

In the third and final phase of the programme, over 13.7 million people will receive the vaccination between May 2021 and Feb 2022.

The main group to be vaccinated are those aged 18 and above, consisting of both locals and foreigners.

According to the handbook, priority will be given to areas under red and yellow zones, before green zones.

This will be the biggest ever vaccination exercise in Malaysia. All Malaysians will receive the vaccination for free.

The vaccination will be available at 605 vaccination centres identified by the Health Ministry.

The temporary vaccination centres at stadiums, convention centres, public halls, universities and suitable facilities will be open based on necessity, according to the handbook.

Although the Covid-19 vaccines are safe for the majority, there are those who should seek medical advice before being inoculated, such as those with allergies, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, Covid-19 positive patients and those with underlying health conditions.

The side effects of Covid-19 are reported to be minimal and temporary.

The most common recorded side effects are swelling, redness and pain at the injection area, fatigue, headache, pain in the joints, shivering, fever, nausea, feeling unwell, swollen lymph nodes and other side effects reported from time to time.