KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 — The number of people newly registering for Covid-19 vaccination declined by more than half in Malaysia over the past three weeks, despite sign-ups not yet reaching 40 per cent of the population.
Across Malaysia, registrations for coronavirus vaccine jabs decreased by 55 per cent from 992,805 new registrations in the week of March 23 to 29, to 446,081 new registrations in the week of April 13 to 19.
Nationwide weekly new sign-ups for Covid-19 vaccination dropped by 321,833 registrations from the week of March 23 to 29 to the week of March 30 to April 5, then declining by 69,398 registrations the following week, and then dropping by 155,493 the next.
As of April 19, when Phase Two of the national Covid-19 vaccination programme opened up for the elderly and those with underlying health conditions, just 37.3 per cent of adults aged 18 and above in Malaysia, or about nine million individuals, have registered for inoculation.
An abnormal spike of Covid-19 vaccine registrations on March 25 nationwide — which was also observed in the selected states in CodeBlue’s analysis of Johor, Perak, Selangor, Kelantan, and Sarawak — is likely due to data consolidation, a reliable source from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation told CodeBlue.
The highest coronavirus vaccine registration rate in Malaysia as of April 19 is in Putrajaya, the administrative centre of the country, at 98.1 per cent of the federal territory’s adult population, while the lowest is in Sabah at 14.8 per cent of its adult population. The Klang Valley makes up the country’s three highest vaccine registration rates, followed by Penang in fourth place at 45.2 per cent of its adult population.
Khairy Jamaluddin, Coordinating Minister of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK), said last Monday that individuals would still have to wait for their turn to get vaccinated even if they registered early, as high-risk groups would be prioritised ahead of healthy individuals.
He pointed out that Malaysia opened up vaccine registration to the public from the start last February, unlike countries like the United Kingdom that opened up registration according to priority groups.
Medical experts have told the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force not to rely predominantly on the MySejahtera mobile app to push vaccine registrations, suggesting a ticketing system instead for people to book their own appointments.
In Selangor, registrations for Covid-19 vaccine shots declined by 58 per cent from 202,714 new registrations in the week of March 23 to 29, to 84,293 new registrations in the week of April 13 to 19, despite the state regularly recording hundreds of infections daily.
Weekly new sign-ups for Covid-19 vaccination in the country’s most developed state dropped by 46,277 registrations from the week of March 23 to 29 to the week of March 30 to April 5, then declining by 40,485 registrations the following week, and then dropping by 31,659 the next.
As of April 19, about 2.4 million adults in Selangor, or 49 per cent of the state’s adult population, have registered for Covid-19 vaccination. Selangor’s 49 per cent population coverage of vaccine registration was the second-highest in Malaysia along with Kuala Lumpur, behind Putrajaya.
In Kelantan — which yesterday reported a record high 429 new coronavirus infections — sign-ups for Covid-19 vaccine jabs declined by 45 per cent from 46,364 new registrations in the week of March 23 to 29, to 25,547 new registrations in the week of April 13 to 19.
Weekly new sign-ups for Covid-19 vaccination in the east coast state dropped by 15,406 registrations from the week of March 23 to 29 to the week of March 30 to April 5, then declining by 393 registrations the following week, and then dropping by 5,018 the next.
As of April 19, just about a quarter of Kelantan’s adult population (24.6 per cent) have registered for Covid-19 inoculation, or 303,638 adults. Kelantan’s coronavirus vaccine registration rate was the second slowest in Malaysia, based on population coverage.
In Sarawak — which broke several daily infection records in recent days — registrations for Covid-19 vaccine shots declined by 12 per cent from 94,722 new registrations in the week of March 23 to 29, to 82,972 new registrations in the week of April 13 to 19.
But Sarawak’s weekly new coronavirus vaccine sign-ups increased from 57,736 in the week of March 30 to April 5, to 96,141 in the week of April 6 to 12, bucking the national trend of decline.
Sign-ups for Covid-19 vaccination in the East Malaysian region dropped by 36,986 registrations from the week of March 23 to 29 to the week of March 30 to April 5, then increasing by 38,405 registrations the following week, and then dropping by 13,169 the next.
As of April 19, forty per cent of adults in Sarawak have registered for Covid-19 vaccine jabs, or 828,770 individuals. Sarawak has the eighth highest adult population coverage for vaccine registrations.
Johor’s Covid-19 vaccine registrations decreased by 67 per cent from 135,669 new registrations in the week of March 23 to 29, to 44,802 new registrations in the week of April 13 to 19.
Weekly new sign-ups for coronavirus vaccine shots in the southern state neighbouring Singapore dropped by 56,760 registrations from the week of March 23 to 29 to the week of March 30 to April 5, then declining by 14,858 registrations the following week, and then dropping by 19,249 the next.
As of April 19, about 1.1 million adults in Johor have registered for Covid-19 immunisation, comprising 39.8 per cent of the state’s adult population. Johor has the ninth highest adult population coverage for vaccine registrations.
In Perak, registrations for Covid-19 vaccine shots declined by 62 per cent from 88,594 new registrations in the week of March 23 to 29, to 33,375 new registrations in the week of April 13 to 19.
Weekly new sign-ups for Covid-19 vaccination in the northern state dropped by 34,930 registrations from the week of March 23 to 29 to the week of March 30 to April 5, then declining by 9,563 registrations the following week, and then dropping by 10,726 the next.
As of April 19, about 34.4 per cent of adults in Perak have registered for Covid-19 vaccine jabs, or 664,990 individuals. Perak has the 10th highest adult population coverage for vaccine registrations.
