KUALA LUMPUR, April 4 – Less than one of five Orang Asli in Malaysia have received their Covid-19 booster shots as of last month.
As of March 4, about 17 per cent of aboriginal adults, or 24,445 people, have received a Covid-19 booster shot, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH).
As of March 4 this year, 80.6 per cent of 144,180 eligible Orang Asli adults have received two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.
“As of March 4, a total of 116,151 aboriginal adults have completed the primary series of Covid-19 vaccines,” Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin mentioned in a written Dewan Negara reply on March 24.
Of that, 24,445 indigenous people or 21 per cent have received booster doses.
“MOH is committed to increase the percentage of booster dose coverage among the indigenous community,” Khairy said.
“Among the efforts made are outreach activities in indigenous villages in the interior and also the suburbs to administer vaccines with the cooperation and involvement of other government agencies, such as the Department of Orang Asli Development (JAKOA), Bomba, and non-government organisations (NGOs).”
Khairy also said that “consistent engagements” with community leaders, including Tok Batin and the local indigenous community, to deliver authentic information on Covid-19 vaccines have successfully increased their understanding and the ministry is persistently convincing them to receive the vaccines.
Senator Isa Ab. Hamid had asked MOH to state the number of indigenous people who have received Covid-19 booster jabs, as well as the efforts and awareness programmes conducted for the community to increase the understanding of Covid-19 vaccines.
