Reporting illegal immigrants deters them from getting vaccinated, cautions MMA

MIRI: Malaysian Medical Association in a press statement yesterday, said reporting undocumented migrants to the security forces would only discourage them from getting vaccinated.

Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin was recently reported saying that this was among the vaccination standard operating procedures (SOPs) decided by the cabinet for the vaccination programme of undocumented migrants.

“We are dismayed to hear the Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin say in a press statement that the government requires healthcare workers to notify security forces if undocumented migrants show up at health facilities and vaccination centres (PPVs).

“This will definitely create a setback in our efforts to vaccinate everyone in the community,” said its president Dr Koh Kar Chai.

He added that Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin during his tenure as the coordinating Minister of the National Covid19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) mentioned that Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) guidelines had been approved to encourage such individuals to come forward for their Covid-19 vaccination under the principles, ‘No one is safe until everyone is safe’ and ‘No wrong door policy’.

Dr Koh added that the guidelines were implemented whilst taking into consideration the various legislations in force at that time.

He pointed out that those individuals not already registered with MySejahtera were to undergo a process of documentation to enable them to be registered.

“However, the mention that health service providers are to inform security forces about the presence of undocumented migrants at health and vaccination centres will send a wrong message to the undocumented migrants who are yet to be vaccinated,” he stressed.