KUALA NERUS – The east coast states have recorded the lowest registration percentage for the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme in the Peninsula, said Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Ahmad Amzad Hashim.
He said based on the record as at yesterday, Kelantan recorded the lowest number of registrations with only 11.8 per cent of the state’s population registered for the vaccination exercise using the MySejahtera application.
“Terengganu and Pahang, on the other hand, only recorded 16.3 per cent and 17.1 per cent of the states’ population respectively, registered to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Hence, I am a little worried because the registration (of the vaccine) is relatively low on the east coast compared with other regions such as Putrajaya, which recorded a total registration of 70 per cent,” he told Bernama after officiating the closing ceremony of the Inter-Foundation Matriculation Innovation Competition 2021 (PIITRAM 2021) at the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), here today.
He said that as at yesterday, a total of 5.53 million or 22.8 per cent of Malaysians had registered for the COVID-19 vaccine.
In this regard, Ahmad Amzad asked government agencies, local authorities and the state governments, especially on the east coast, to mobilise the Village Development and Security Committee (JPKK) to help residents register as recipients of the vaccine.
Meanwhile, PIITRAM 2021, held from March 7 to 9 and today (March 15), has received 186 entries from all foundations and matriculation nationwide, involving three categories, namely, student, academician and administrator.
The annual competition, aimed to train and encourage participants to produce something innovative, was organised by the Council of Deans and Directors of foundations and matriculation at public universities.
This year’s event was virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and UMT and Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) was chosen as co-host.
AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine safe
Malaysia meanwhile will proceed with the purchase and acquisition of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines as there has been no evidence that the vaccine causes blood clots, said National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
He said AstraZeneca had informed Malaysia on the side effects of the vaccine and so far, there has been no data to indicate any direct link between the vaccine and reports of blood clots in people, which had resulted in deaths in a few countries.
“As of now we will not take another stand. The purchase of the AstraZeneca vaccines remains the same,” he told a joint press conference with Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba on the development of the immunisation programme, here, today.
Several countries such as Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Thailand have reportedly paused rollout of AstraZeneca’s vaccine following reports of blood clots occurring in several individuals after being vaccinated.
Khairy, who is also Science, Technology and Innovation Minister said the the ministry would study the clinical data on incidents that have occurred abroad to enable experts to draw conclusions on the vaccine use.
Studies conducted
Dr Adham said the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Division (NPRA) conducts thorough studies on any COVID-19 vaccine to be used in Malaysia.
“We trust the NPRA’s decisions, and in the case of the AstraZeneca vaccine we have looked into its quality and safety,” he said.
The Drug Control Authority (DCA) on March 2 approved the conditional registration of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
Meanwhile, Khairy informed that Malaysia will take delivery of additional Pfizer BioNTech vaccines in stages for the first phase of the immunisation programme.
Today saw the delivery of 83,070 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, we will be receiving 124,020 doses on March 22 and another 125,190 on March 26, he said.
“Cumulatively, Malaysia will receive 1,000,350 doses of vaccine and this completes the delivery for the first quarter,” he said, adding that 100,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine will also be delivered today.
Asked why Malaysia procured COVID-19 vaccine in large quantities, Khairy said the bulk purchase was to facilitate the mitigation process, which is to reduce the risk of delays in the delivery of vaccines to Malaysia.
“There is a possibility that we may need to give a ‘booster shot’ which is another dose next year if the pandemic remains so it is good to have ready stock,” he said.
Khairy said the ministry was also looking into the possibility of vaccinating teenagers, adding that Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca manufacturers were already conducting clinical trials on individuals aged 12 to 16.
