The Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force-Adolescent (CITF-A) chairman, in a statement today, said the health ministry had in the past week found that there have been some children aged 12 to 18 who failed to turn up for their second dose of the vaccine.

He added that due to these no-shows, the target date for those fully vaccinated, which should have reached 80% of the population on Nov 11, will now only be achieved in late November or early December.

“If parents or guardians do not ensure that their children receive the second dose, the risk for this group to be infected with Covid-19 is higher than those who have been fully vaccinated.

“This situation will definitely affect the reopening of schools and also the reopening of economic sectors,” he said in a statement.

Noor Azmi said parents who had to reschedule the second dose appointment can contact the school for a new one.

Those who can’t accompany their children for their vaccination appointments can request for another adult to represent them by filling up a form available at the school, he added.

“I also understand concerns among parents of their children experiencing side effects, such as allergies. However, I would like to stress here that serious side effects are rare and with early treatment, they will fully recover.

“Although economic and social sectors have reopened and the current situation is improving, parents should be aware that the risk of Covid-19 infection is still high, especially for children who have not completed their vaccinations,” he said.

Noor Azmi said as at Nov 3, a total of 2,622,306 or 83.3% of teenagers have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine while 2,197,961 or 69.8% received their second dose.

He said the states that recorded the highest number of second doses were Melaka (88.6%), Perlis (87.8%), Penang (83.7%), Kedah (81%) and Terengganu (80.9%).