KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 — Private dentists, mainly from big cities, have yet to receive their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, said the Malaysian Private Dental Practitioners’ Association (MPDPA).
MPDPA president Dr Mahendran claimed that the majority of private dentists who haven’t received Covid-19 vaccination are from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur and certain districts in Selangor, the country’s most developed state.
“It is to be understood that dentists are an integral part of the health care system and any further delay in the vaccination process will only slow down the efforts to bring the pandemic under control,” Dr Mahendran said in a statement today.
“This is because the risk of dentists contracting the virus is high because patients are examined in close contact with their face mask removed.”
Dr Mahendran also said that private dentists have been dealing with high patient loads since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“As the second phase of vaccination is commencing soon, we are worried the reason for the delay could be due to poor coordination between the health authorities and the fellow dentists.”
Dr Mahendran told CodeBlue that increased Covid-19 vaccine doses should be allocated for Kuala Lumpur and Selangor because of a higher concentration of private medical practitioners and dentists.
Earlier, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) also highlighted that private health care workers, including general practitioners (GPs), nurses, and clinical assistants in certain states, are yet to be listed in the first phase of the national Covid-19 vaccination programme targeting frontline workers.
Phase Two of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) is due to start on April 17, targeting 9.4 million people aged above 60, those with underlying health conditions, and people with disabilities.
