KUALA LUMPUR: More expectant mothers nationwide will be getting their vaccination appointments over the coming days as efforts to inoculate them against Covid-19 intensify, Khairy Jamaluddin said.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme coordinating minister said mothers who are between 14 and 33 weeks into their pregnancy will be given priority and their appointments will be arranged based on their information on MySejahtera.
“Expectant mothers remain top priority for the Covid-19 vaccine as the risk of them being infected is high,” he said after visiting the vaccination centre (PPV) at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Mitec) on Saturday (June 26).
He said about 6,000 expectant mothers have been scheduled to be vaccinated at Mitec and the Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre PPV this weekend.
He added that varying numbers of expectant mothers living in other states are also getting vaccinated throughout the coming week and beyond.
Khairy said as of Friday (June 25) night, more than 109,600 mothers have registered for their vaccination through MySejahtera.
“About 11,663 of them are expected to deliver in August and their vaccination appointments will be based on their estimated date of delivery (EDD),” he said, adding that more than 10,000 pregnant mothers have “Expectant Mother” marked on their appointments.
Khairy also said based on the Health Ministry’s updated guidelines, the Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines have been approved suitable for pregnant women.
“Pfizer remains the recommended while AstraZeneca has no contraindications to pregnancies and Sinovac is recommended based on the World Health Organisation’s interim report for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers because the benefits outweigh the risks,” he said.
Meanwhile, Khairy said Phase 2 of the NIP will be intensified at all states and the programme will enter its third phase in areas where all the senior citizens have been vaccinated.
Outreach programmes will also continue to ensure everyone is vaccinated in order to realise plans under the National Recovery Plan to reopen the country.
On another matter, Khairy said two vaccination centres will open in Kemaman, Terengganu in early July to inoculate workers in the in industrial sectors there.
PPVs for the oil and gas sector in Kerteh will open on July 1 while the Eastern Steel Industrial PPV in Chukai will open on July 2.
Khairy added that the vaccination programme for the economic sectors will be expanded to cover other industries soon.
“The vaccination programme for economic sector falls under disease control phase which will move in parallel with the phases two and three of the NIP,” Khairy said.
