Penang sees massive surge in Covid-19 child vaccination in just one week

GEORGE TOWN – Penang recorded a surge in its uptake for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids) within a week.

State Health Department senior assistant director-general Dr Farzaana Adam said a total of 15,610 children received the vaccination as of February 17 compared to only 530 on February 11.

She added that Penang is the state with the second highest PICKids programme registrations, with more than 64,000.

“This shows that more parents are more confident with the PICKids programme, and we hope more parents will be aware of the importance of this vaccination,” she said at an engagement session with the Parents and Teachers Association in Seberang Prai Tengah yesterday.

The first online engagement session organised by state Agrotechnology, Food Safety, Rural Development and Health Committee chairman Dr Norlela Ariffin was attended by 324 school representatives and parents.

Meanwhile, she said Penang recorded 2,088 new Covid-19 cases as of yesterday, with 26 active clusters.

This meant 15 clusters involving educational institutions, five in the manufacturing sector, four in workplaces, and one cluster each in detention centres and high-risk groups.

“Two new clusters were also detected, involving two Islamic schools in Seberang Prai Tengah and Seberang Prai Selatan.”

The cumulative total of Covid-19 cases in Penang is 188,583 cases. – The Vibes, February 19, 2022