PUTRAJAYA – The Ministry of Health (MOH) has targeted 60 percent of teenagers under the age of 18 to receive their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine by this November.
Minister of Health, Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar said that approximately 80 percent of the group would be receiving their two complete doses by January next year.
According to him, as of 16 September, 85,076 teenagers aged 16 and 17 years-old in Sarawak, Federal Territory of Labuan and Sabah have received their COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) for Adolescents.
He added, other states are implementing the PICK for Adolescents today, including the Klang Valley.
“I have discussed with the Director-General of Health (Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah), that states with sufficient vaccine supplies would implement this concurrently,” he said after monitoring the launch of PICK Adolescents at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Presint 8(1) today.
Also present was Deputy Minister of Health Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali, Minister of Health Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin and the Director-General of Health Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
According to Khairy, PICK Adolescent would be implemented via several methods, including outreach programmes that focus on adolescents in rural areas.
He added, besides waiting for the vaccination appointment given by the schools, teenagers under the age of 18 may also walk-in to the vaccination centres (PPV) listed by the Ministry of Health (MOH).
Nevertheless, Khairy said that the parents or guardians of the adolescents need to accompany them during the vaccination along with a permission letter.
“As our PPV are still operating, we will announce the list of PPV in the states for adolescents to walk in. There are two methods; wait or go straight to PPV,” he added.
He further shared that medical practitioners from private clinics would also assist in the implementation of PICK Adolescents.
Meanwhile, at the advice of MOH, Khairy also urged all adolescents who have just received their vaccine to not do strenuous activities for a week.
The Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force for Adolescents (CITF-A) also projected that 3.2 million children would be protected by the vaccine within three months of the programme. -MalaysiaGazette
