The MMA is also suggesting that clinical assistants and nurses be vaccinated together with private doctors.

MMA president Dr Subramaniam Muniandy said there was a lack of planning and coordination between state health departments and district health offices with regard to private healthcare worker vaccination.

“To simplify the process, an online portal should be set up to enable private healthcare workers (HCWs) to check their name, date and place of vaccination,” he said.

“It should be a centralised system to allow HCWs to register directly to avoid duplication and redundancy. It is after all a centralised policy with local implementation,” he added.

In a statement today, Subramaniam said the association recently received complaints from private doctors whose names did not appear on district health office vaccination lists even though the MMA had submitted their names as far back as January.

Such issues will result in further delays in vaccinating private HCWs, as district health offices, which are already “overwhelmed” with existing work have now been burdened with additional administrative duties. They should, therefore, be aided by automation to ease their work, he added.

A portal would ease the dispensing of vaccines to private HCWs, he noted.

“It is hoped the government will consider setting up the portal as soon as possible as we are already progressing towards phase 2 of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme,” he said, adding that private GPs and their staff would need to be vaccinated before they assist the government in vaccinating the population under phases 2 and 3.

Subramaniam pointed out that currently only private sector doctors had been identified as frontliners to be vaccinated and that clinical assistants and nurses had not been included as frontliners in some states.

“Clinical assistants and nurses are equally exposed to the risk of Covid-19 infection and therefore should also be vaccinated together.”