Malls Insist ProtectHealth Charging RM30 For Covid-19 Vaccination

The Malaysia Shopping Malls Association’s statement contradicts government-owned ProtectHealth Corporation’s denial about collecting any fee for Covid-19 vaccine rollouts in shopping centres.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 — The Malaysia Shopping Malls Association (PPK) today maintained that government-owned ProtectHealth Corporation is charging RM30 per person for complete Covid-19 vaccination at shopping centres.

PPK — which represents major shopping centres in the Klang Valley and other states — said in a statement that of the total RM50 fee per person for two doses at on-site vaccination in malls, RM30 would go to the Ministry of Health (MOH)-owned company for vaccine administration. 

The remaining RM20 for two doses per person, said PPK, was a “nominal” sum to “partially defray logistic expenses” by shopping centres and to avoid no-shows to prevent vaccine wastage.

“We already had several meetings with the authorities on this public-private sector partnership with the vaccines being provided by our government free of charge, but the malls are paying for the doctors, nurses, or medical officer fees to Protect Health Corporation and all other antecedent costs,” PPK said in a statement today.

“We were also informed that the doctors and nurses providing their service will be allocated by the ProtectHealth Corporation who will charge to administer per dose at RM15. Therefore, at RM15 per dose x two doses equalling RM30, plus the above nominal sum of RM20 to partially defray logistic expenses, a total of RM50 for two doses will be charged to participants, principally only our shopping frontliners.”

PPK’s statement contradicts ProtectHealth’s statement to CodeBlue yesterday, where the government-owned company — which manages private medical practitioners providing inoculation services in the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) — denied collecting any fee for the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in shopping centres.

The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, which manages the Covid-19 vaccination programme for the retail sector, also told CodeBlue that it was not collecting payment for the inoculation drive. 

The government — through ProtectHealth — is meant to cover Covid-19 vaccine administration costs incurred from private medical practitioners by paying them RM14 per dose administered, so that inoculation remains free for the general public.

According to PPK’s estimation, on-site coronavirus vaccination programmes in shopping malls would cost RM100 to RM150 per person, claiming that this included the cost of providing the venue, logistics, manpower, and standby ambulance service. These costs depend on the total number of doses available each day, total population to be vaccinated, and the duration to complete administering all the doses. 

However, PPK said malls would largely subsidise these logistical costs and charge only a maximum of RM10 per dose per person, or RM20 for two doses, “in the interests of the national agenda”. This is in addition to the RM30 charge allegedly paid to ProtectHealth, totalling RM50 per vaccine recipient for two doses.

According to PPK, the proposal of having on-site vaccination programmes in respective shopping malls for their retail workers has garnered support from its members. 

“We have received more than fifty malls interested to host vaccination centres nationwide and it is definitely an invaluable contribution towards our industry’s ongoing nationwide combat against the pandemic, in collaboration with the authorities.

“Details of this programme and the confirmed locations are being finalized and will be announced, once approved in due course, and we do look forward to the roll-out by end of June 2021 onwards as scheduled.”

PPK also pointed out that this public-private partnership mainly aimed to vaccinate all employees of malls, as well as their business outlets, to make shopping centres a safer place for the public to access. 

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