The department’s director, Dr Sha’ari Ngadiman, said the vaccination centres always ensure that the SOPs set by the health ministry are adhered to and the vaccination process is operating at an optimum level.

“We wish to emphasise that various checks are in place as part of best practices determined by the health ministry and improvements are made from time to time,” he said in a statement uploaded on JKNS’ Facebook page last night.

Sha’ari said several guidelines must be followed during vaccination, and the vaccinators must be from a pool of qualified personnel formally appointed by JKNS.

He said at least two personnel must be at every station to see to the vaccine administration.

“One person acts as the vaccinator while the other will prepare the vaccine and be the witness while the vaccine is being administered.

“The person preparing the vaccine will extract it into a special syringe according to the prescribed dosage before handing it over to the vaccinator or placing it in a special container near the vaccinator.

“This person must also ensure that all empty syringes are removed.”

He said the inoculation procedure must follow the intramuscular injection technique. Once the vaccine has been administered, the emptied syringe will be disposed into a sharps disposal container placed near the vaccinator.

“With strict adherence to these measures, it is quite impossible for a recipient to be vaccinated with an empty syringe,” he said.