KUALA LUMPUR, April 19 — Covid-19 vaccine acceptance in Malaysia has increased to 85 per cent, according to an online survey conducted by the Ministry of Health (MOH).
Health Minister Dr Adham Baba said the poll run between April 3 and 16 this year with 85 per cent of respondents willing to get vaccinated against Covid-19 showed an increase in vaccine acceptance, compared to another MOH survey run last December with 67 per cent saying they would get the jab.
He added that among the 15,639 respondents of the April survey, 88.3 per cent said they have registered for Covid-19 vaccination, while 6.1 per cent have already received the jab.
Only 10 per cent of respondents were uncertain about getting Covid-19 inoculation, while 5 per cent disagreed with taking the jab.
More than half, or 55.4 per cent, of respondents were from the bottom 40 per cent (B40) of income earners, while 4.8 per cent were foreigners.
Malaysia started its Covid-19 vaccine rollout late last February and has administered about 1.1 million doses, including 443,029 second doses, as of yesterday. The second phase of the National Covid-19 Vaccination Programme (PICK) targeting the elderly and people with comorbidities or disabilities started today.
Despite the 85 per cent vaccine acceptance rate in MOH’s April survey, as of yesterday, only 37.1 per cent of the 18 and above population nationwide have registered for Covid-19 vaccination, or some 8.99 million adults.
