He said night appointments will be given at certain vaccination centres during Ramadan, which is expected to start on April 13. Hari Raya will be celebrated on May 13.
He also said the second phase of the programme will now start on April 17, two days earlier than the April 19 date announced previously.
He said the registration campaign had to be intensified as people aged 60 and above and individuals with comorbidities made up only 30% of the seven million people who have registered through the MySejahtera application.
“We need to intensify the campaign to increase vaccination registration through five methods, namely through MySejahtera or the health ministry website, contacting the hotline, going to district health centres and through non-governmental organisation outreach programmes that also focus on the homeless and illegal immigrants,” he said.
A total of 9.4 million vaccine recipients are targeted in the second phase involving high-risk groups including the elderly, chronic patients, people with disabilities and individuals with comorbidities.
Adham was speaking to the media after witnessing the signing of an agreement between the health ministry and Solution Biologics Sdn Bhd to produce the CanSino vaccine from China on a “fill and finish” basis, here today.
Asked about the ban on vaccine exports in several countries to meet domestic demand, Adham said it would not affect the immunisation programme in Malaysia as suppliers had assured the government that delivery would be on schedule.
For example, he said Malaysia would procure the AstraZeneca vaccine from factories in Thailand through direct procurement, while the supply of the vaccine through the Covax facility would come from South Korea.
“These things are all guaranteed. So the issue of delays in the supply of vaccines from suppliers does not arise,” he said.
It has been reported that India has temporarily halted all major exports of AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India to meet domestic demand following the increase in Covid-19 infections in the country.
The move will reportedly affect supply to the World Health Organization-backed Covax vaccine sharing facility where many countries are expected to get their doses from. Covax is a global initiative aimed at equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines.
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