571,802 frontliners have registered for Covid immunisation – Khairy

PUTRAJAYA: A total of 571,802 frontliners have registered to receive the Covid-19 vaccination as of February 20, says Coordinating Minister for National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme Khairy Jamaluddin.

He said of the total, 57.3 per cent were medical and health personnel, with 39.8 per cent being from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the remaining 17.5 per cent comprising other medical and health personnel, including from the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM).

According to Khairy, the other 42.7 per cent were non-health personnel including members of the

ATM, Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department, Royal Malaysian Police, People’s Volunteer Corps (RELA), Malaysian Prisons Department, Royal Malaysian Customs Department, Social Welfare Department.

“We are pleased to inform, that the first immunisation programme involving Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has been brought forward to Feb 24, two days earlier than scheduled.

“Both of them will be among the first individuals to be immunised along with the frontline staff,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Khairy, who is also Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, said Malaysia made history when the first batch of Covid-19 PfizerBioNTech vaccines arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 10.07 am.

“Along with Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Adham Baba, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong and Dr Noor Hisham, I had the opportunity to welcome the arrival of the vaccines, which was also broadcast live on television,” he said.

He said besides KLIA, some of the vaccine supply arrived in Johor and Penang. Subsequently, the vaccines will be sent to 16 Vaccine Storage Centres (VSC) nationwide, namely six in Selangor; Johor (four); Kuala Lumpur (three); Penang (two) and Putrajaya (one).

“The arrival of this vaccine gives a ray of light to all of us Malaysians, especially the frontliners in the effort to fight this pandemic,” he said.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH604, an Airbus A330-300 aircraft carrying the first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines arrived at KLIA with 312,390 doses of the vaccine for Malaysia under the National Covid19 Immunisation Programme which will be held in stages.