Free influenza shots for seniors planned
PUTRAJAYA: The government is planning to offer free influenza shots to the elderly as part of the National Immunisation Programme (NIP) from next year, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad.
However, Dzulkefly said any rollout would be subject to Ministry of Finance (MOF) approval.
“It is still under discussion. Seniors are most at risk.
“We will apply to the MOF to put it in the 2025 Budget first,” he told the media after the 2024 National Immunisation Day celebrations and the National Immunisation Summit here on Monday.
He added that the free shots will be administered once a year to seniors who wish to get one.
So far, the free influenza vaccine is only eligible for frontline government health officers.
Dzulkefly also said the government has approved the administration of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP) vaccination to pregnant mothers, which will begin at year end.
He added that the vaccinations were aimed at protecting newborn babies from pertussis or whooping cough.
“The vaccinations are given free of charge under the National Immunisation Programme (NIP),” he said.
Meanwhile, Immunise4life programme technical committee chairman Prof Datuk Dr Zulkifli Ismail said the D-TaP vaccinations for pregnant mothers would protect the babies they were carrying from whooping cough as most patients were unvaccinated or did not get vaccinated in time.
“We want the child to be immunised before they are three months, so they will receive immunisation from their mothers,” he said, adding that one dose of D-TaP vaccination would be given to pregnant mothers in their third trimester or between 27 to 32 weeks of pregnancy.
“The vaccination is for each pregnancy, so if the mother is pregnant every year, she will be vaccinated every year,” he said.
Whooping cough is caused by the Bordetella Pertussis bacteria, which infects the mouth, nose and throat and spreads through the air when the patient sneezes or coughs.
Its symptoms include prolonged cough for one or two weeks, which often drags to two months.