Covid-19 Booster Programme Open To Employees At Workplaces

Employers only need to provide a venue at their workplace for the booster vaccine drive that will be handled by private medical practitioners registered with ProtectHealth.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 – ProtectHealth Corporation today encouraged companies to request private medical practitioners registered with it to arrange Covid-19 booster vaccination for their employees at their workplaces.

This new PPV Outreach programme, which also covers associations that would like their members to be boosted, replaces the previous PPV Industri and outreach programmes with health care non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the rural and interior areas.

All of these coronavirus vaccination drives for both workers and vulnerable groups are now coordinated under the PPV Outreach Programme.

Private medical practitioners (PMPs) registered with ProtectHealth and health care NGOs will be responsible for submitting applications to open PPV Outreach booster vaccination drives.

Employers do not need to pay ProtectHealth and are only required to provide an appropriate venue and non-clinical infrastructure for private medical practitioners or health care NGOs to administer Covid-19 booster jabs.

Employers are also prohibited from charging any fee to employees for coronavirus booster shots obtained via the PPV Outreach programme. 

The government bears the cost of the vaccine, whereas ProtectHealth, which is a non-profit company fully owned by the Ministry of Health (MOH), bears the cost of vaccine administration by paying private medical practitioners and health care NGOs for each jab given. ProtectHealth pays health care providers for full clinical services.

“Previously, most employees would go to the PPV but for now, employers can opt to set up a vaccination drive ranging from one to seven days for their employees,” ProtectHealth CEO Anas Alam Faizli said in a statement today.

“We also encourage PMPs and Healthcare NGOs to collaborate with employers and community leaders that wish to do the targeted vaccination at their place, workplace or at the factories to increase the vaccination coverage.”

ProtectHealth did not appoint a third party as an intermediary in the application process for the PPV Outreach programme. 

All private medical practitioners and health care NGOs registered with ProtectHealth are allowed to coordinate the booster vaccine drives in the PPV Outreach programme. They must obtain agreement from the district health office or the companies involved.

So far, 111 PPV Outreach programmes have been conducted, comprising 69 workplace vaccine drives and 42 vaccination programmes for communities. As of yesterday, ProtectHealth has administered 49.5 per cent of total Covid-19 vaccinations in Malaysia, equivalent to 29.4 million doses under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK), as well as 72.1 per cent of total booster vaccinations, equivalent to 5.6 million doses.

Less than a quarter of Malaysia’s total population, including a third of adults aged 18 and older, have received Covid-19 boosters or third doses. 

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