The minister today confirmed that some people who were not supposed to receive the vaccine had successfully made it to the list of individuals under the first phase of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.
“It was not due to a flaw in the registration process, but rather there was a lack of clarity so people tried their luck and managed to get on (the list). But the numbers are very small,” he said, adding that these people have been removed for now.
Khairy was speaking at a virtual press conference after a Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee meeting.
He said he had received multiple anonymous emails about vaccine queue jumping, adding that his team would investigate every single complaint as it was a serious matter.
“Officers of ministers, state excos, menteris besar, and political secretaries are all not included in phase one. They cannot jump the queue,” said Khairy, adding that the government was considering granting the health ministry additional powers to fine or punish queue jumpers.
This comes after Selayang Hospital nephrologist Dr Rafidah Abdullah previously revealed on Twitter that certain people were able to skip the queues to be vaccinated. She had urged the ministry to consider an independent channel for the public to lodge complaints.
To avoid any further confusion, Khairy announced that the committee would release guidelines on the immunisation programme later today, which will state who is eligible for the first phase of vaccinations.
He also said a “sub-committee” would be formed to look into requests from groups who wish to be included in the first phase of the programme.
Commenting on the progress of the immunisation programme, Khairy said a total of 17,064 people have been vaccinated so far, with Sarawak administering the most number of jabs at 7,402.
He also revealed that some 1.4 million people have registered for the vaccine on MySejahtera as of 11am today, making up 6.1% of the population.
While the figure was still relatively low, Khairy said he was optimistic that things would pick up once online registration and the immunisation programme’s hotline begins on March 5.
Meanwhile, Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador urged anyone who knows of vaccine queue-jumpers to lodge a police report.
He said action could be taken against such individuals for getting the vaccine under the first or second phase when they are not eligible.
Hamid added that it is a criminal offence to cut queues, stating it is considered a form of malpractice and as such, action could be taken against the culprits.
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