ALOR SETAR – A total of 10,827 individuals who registered as COVID-19 vaccine recipients in the state failed to turn up for their vacination appointment between April 19 and May 22.
Kedah Health director Dr Mohd Fikri Ujang said the number involved 35 per cent of the 30,100 individuals who had registered and were given appointments through the MySejahtera application under the second phase of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme implementation.
“The number involves individuals who were supposed to come and receive the injections at public vaccination centres (PPV), Health Ministry’s health clinic PPV , private clinic PPV and private hospital PPV.
“However, the vaccines were then administered to a waiting list that met the criteria of phase two, namely the elderly and those suffering from chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, heart problems and so on,” he said when contacted, here, today.
He said that among the reasons given (for the no-shows) included worry and not being prepared to receive the vaccine jab. There were others who cited being unwell, undergoing quarantine, being out of the area, not having transport to go to the PPV, and also those who wanted to make a last-minute change of the appointment date.
Dr Mohd Fikri said, in order to increase registered recipient attendance, the State Health Department (JKN) has taken the approach of making announcements through social media sites to raise community awareness on the importance and benefits of vaccination.
Meanwhile, he said until May 24, a total of 579,526 or 37.6 per cent of the 1,541,160 who were eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine shots, had registered in the state.
“The number who received the first dose as of May 24 was 91,349 (15.76 per cent) of the total number who registered.
“I would also like to remind and advise the community in Kedah to practise self-control, reduce the frequency of leaving the house, and adhere to all standard operating procedures set to curb the spread of the pandemic,” he added.
No wastage
Meanwhile in Kelantan, there was no wastage of COVID-19 vaccine despite almost 10,000 individuals not turning up on their vaccination appointment date set under the second phase of the state-level National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme.
Kelantan State Health director, Datuk Dr Zaini Hussin said such individuals who had registered would be replaced with others under the same criteria.
“In fact, many Kelantanese hope that they will get vaccinated without having to wait for the given date through the MySejahtera application,” he said in a statement today.
However, Dr Zaini advised the public to constantly check the MySejahtera app to find out the invitation status for vaccination.
“Please adhere to the appointment date. For those who are unable to attend due to unavoidable circumstances, please inform the vaccination centres (PPV) to reschedule the appointment,” he said.
He also reminded the public not to simply walk in for vaccination as the authorities already have a list of substitute recipients for those absent at the PPV.
“Please be patient to wait for your turn and getting vaccinated early does not mean you don’t need to follow the standard operating procedure (SOP),” he added.
Dr Zaini said as of yesterday, 35, 905 individuals had received their first dose of vaccine under the second phase of the programme in the state.
A total of 66.314 individuals out of 125,744 aged 60 and above who are eligible to receive the vaccine under the second phase in Kelantan have registered with MySejahtera.
All slots taken up
The one million slots for the latest round of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine opt-in registration for Malaysians aged 60 and below were snapped up in 90 minutes, despite much technical hiccups due to high traffic after its opening at noon today.
According to a tweet by the COVID-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) at 1.27 pm, the appointment booking for the vaccine was closed and those eligible would receive an appointment soon.
Earlier, CITF informed that over 300,000 slots for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine had been booked as of 12.56 pm today, less than an hour after the registration opened to people aged under 60.
MySejahtera in a separate tweet at 12.40 pm stated that some might not be able to access certain functions of the application due to high traffic and advised users to log in again later after the traffic cleared.
The AstraZeneca appointment booking requires applicants to register under the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme and it can be made through the MySejahtera application, CITF website or via hotline.
Meanwhile, satay operator Hezlinda Md Samsudin, 46, said she was grateful that eventually she could register for the AstraZeneca vaccination for herself and her daughter 55 minutes after the registration opened.
She said she got ready with two laptops and three mobile phones to obtain slots for her husband, herself and their daughter, and had been waiting since 11.45 am but her husband failed to get a slot.
Media practitioner Muhamad Erwin Zaid, 25, considered himself among the lucky ones but felt that the government should improve the registration system which was rather confusing.
Coordinating Minister for the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme, Khairy Jamaluddin had on Monday told that the registration would open at noon. However, CITF on Twitter today notified a 15-minute delay as the vaccine booking page was still being updated.
A number of people voiced out their frustration on social media due to technical glitches of the booking process today.
The AstraZeneca vaccine booking is open to residents in Johor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Sarawak and Selangor aged 18 years and above.
Previously, the AstraZeneca vaccination booking slots were open to people aged 60 and above on Sunday (May 23).
