Phase 2 of NIP starts April 19
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NIP) second phase will kick off on April 19.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister (Mosti) Khairy Jamaluddin said recipients would be notified of their appointments via the MySejahtera application, phone calls and text messaging (SMS) from April 5, two weeks before the date.
Priority, he said, would be given to senior citizens, the disabled and individuals with comorbidities. The coordinating minister of the NIP said engagement sessions would be car- ried out with industry players, focusing on those with 5,000 or more employees for the inoculation drive.
“We will have a public-private agreement with the industry (for this purpose), especially those in red zones and high-risk areas,” he said in a press conference via Zoom yesterday.
Discussions were also held with the National Security Council and Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) to inoculate foreigners, including employees, students, as well as documented and illegal immigrants.
“I have received a letter from the United Nations (UN), which has offered cooperation in this matter. It will be presented to the cabinet for a policy decision.”
Khairy said based on a March 10 decision, an additional 150,000 frontliners would be included in the first phase of the NIP.
“Our earlier target for Phase 1 was to have 90 per cent of 500,175 frontliners to at least receive their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
“Now it has been increased to 647,398 as of March 10. We hope the additional number of frontliners will receive their first dose in the next two weeks,” he said.
Khairy said so far, up to 129,110 people had received their full Covid-19 vaccination while 451,655 had received their first dose since the NIP began on Feb 26.
He also revealed that as of Sunday, 7,235,436 people had registered to get inoculated, which was equivalent to 30 per cent of the targeted population aged 18 and above. A total of 530,158 Covid-19 vaccination appointments had been issued.
“The rise in numbers is good and encouraging. We hope to see more people coming forward to register under the NIP.”
Khairy said the top five states that had administered the most Covid-19 vaccines so far were Selangor (75,317), Perak (59,305), Sarawak (57,034), Sabah (52,223) and Kuala Lumpur (50,512).
The top five vaccine dose administered by district were Kuala Lumpur (50,512), Petaling (23,573), Kinta (21,177), Kuantan (19,959) and Timur Laut in Penang (18,719).
He said a concerted effort was being taken to improve the registration rate through community outreach programmes, in addition to the existing MySejahtera app.
“We can see a stable rate of registration, with about two million out of nine million people in phase two, namely, senior citizens, individuals with comorbidities and the disabled, registering so far.
“Door-to-door registration drives are also being carried out with the cooperation of other agencies like Nadma (the National Disaster Management Agency), Civil Defence Force, district offices and state governments,” he said.
“When we decided to bring forward those in phase 3 (aged 18 and above) to get vaccinated, it
does not mean we have given up on those in the phase 2 category.
“Once they (people in phase 2 category) register for the vaccination, they will be placed on top of the queue. Meanwhile, while waiting for them, as long as there are sufficient supplies, we will start with those in the third phase.”
He said special arrangements would be made for recipients who faced difficulty in going to vaccination centres, such as those who were bedridden. In such cases, the vaccinators would go to their homes instead.
He also said several venues, including stadiums and conference halls, would be used as vaccination centres in the second and third phases — the details which would be announced later.
Khairy also cautioned those who were trying to cheat on their health condition or even age to jump queue in the vaccination programme to desist from doing so.
Recipients scheduled to be inoculated but found to have cheated in their details would be turned away from the vaccination centres.
“MySejahtera is an honest system. We depend on the honesty of vaccine recipients, but there are certain things that you can foil at the centres. For instance, if I registered as a senior citizen, they can certainly deny me at the point of vaccination.
“So, my view is please be honest (when answering the health assessment on MySejahtera) because you will be found out anyway,” said Khairy.