Vaccine coordination Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has revealed that the National Immunisation Programme (NIP) will start vaccinating teenagers aged below 18 years old against COVID-19 soon. The decision was made following a circular that was released by Health Director-General Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
According to Khairy, vaccinations for children aged 12-17 years old will be prioritised for those who have underlying medical conditions. This will be followed by teenagers with no medical issues and it will be administered according to age.
He added that the full announcement will be made next week by the special committee on ensuring access to COVID-19 vaccine supply (JKJAV). At the moment, teenagers can register themselves under the NIP but vaccinations are currently only offered to adults aged 18 years old and above.
In June, Malaysia’s health regulators had already given the green light to offer Pfizer vaccines to children aged 12-17 years old. The vaccinations for under 18 was supposed to start this month under Phase 5 of the NIP but the plan was put on hold following concerns of myocarditis or heart inflammation. At the time, Khairy said although the incidents are rare, the JKJAV decided to wait and obtain more data before deciding to go ahead with vaccinating teenagers.
Vaccinating children would be vital as the total adult population isn’t sufficient to cover 80% of the total population. In addition, having vaccinated teenagers would also allow a safer reopening of secondary schools especially for exam students.
As of 12th August, Malaysia has administered over 26.3 million doses. 16.5 million people or 50.7% of the total population have received at least one dose, while 9.8 million people or 30% of the total population have received two doses.
Sarawak and Labuan have currently fully vaccinated more than half of their total population. However, for the states of Kelantan, Johor and Sabah, less than 20% have gotten two doses.
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