Walk-in Covid-19 vaccinations for the elderly, individuals with disabilities, people with comorbidities, teachers, and those who missed their second doses have started in states like Perak, Kedah, Penang, Sabah, Melaka, Kelantan and Sarawak.
On August 2, the then National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced that walk-in vaccinations for senior citizens aged 60 and above would be extended throughout the country from the following week.
CITF also said in a statement on August 7 that senior citizens, people with disabilities, individuals with comorbidities aged 18 and above, teachers and those who missed their second doses would be able to walk in to get their jabs at PPVs.
Details on the implementation of walk-in vaccinations would be announced by the state CITF together with the respective state health departments.
However, until today, we have not heard any further announcement regarding walk-in vaccinations for Johor, even though I am still receiving calls or messages from senior citizens who have yet to receive their vaccination appointments.
Johor recorded 1,832 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, the highest ever.
Not only that, the Johor vaccination rate is still below the national average. As of August 25, 80.3 per cent of the Malaysian adult population have received at least one dose of vaccine, but only 71.8 per cent of the Johor adult population have received at least one dose.
The rise in daily infections, as well as deaths in Johor, have heightened fear and intensified demands for faster vaccination.
We need to allow walk-in vaccinations for priority groups and an Operation Surge Capacity (OSC) similar to Klang Valley as there is an urgent need for a faster and smoother vaccination rate as the best protection against Covid-19.
Every day is critical, and delays may expose the public to infection or even the risk of death.
Teo Nie Ching is Member of Parliament for Kulai.
- This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of CodeBlue.
