Schools are set to reopen in stages from Oct 3.

“There were 12,000 Covid-19 cases in 2020 but more than 400,000 confirmed cases in 2021 among children and adolescents, which is a 32-fold surge,” Johor DAP committee member Dr Boo Cheng Hau said in a statement today.

He said only 43% of those aged 12 to 17 had received their first Covid-19 vaccine dose.

“This does not include primary school and pre-school children.

“We have to be realistic that schools could be more safely reopened in mid-January if we can get 80-90% of school staff and students fully vaccinated by the end of this year.”

The government is in the midst of vaccinating teenagers, with 60% expected to receive their first dose by November. Putrajaya has also mandated the vaccine for all civil servants.

Boo said one vaccine dose did not guarantee full protection from the virus and that the virus could become more virulent among younger people as opposed to older people who had been fully vaccinated.

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