In less than 2 months, 80% of teens in Malaysia have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has said that Malaysia’s COVID-19 vaccination for adolescents is one of the fastest in the world. In less than two months, a total of 2,524,156 teens (80.2%) have received at least one dose while 1,367,216 teens (43.4%) have completed their vaccination with two doses.

The National Immunisation Program started vaccinating teens aged 12 to 17 years old in mid-September at over 150 vaccination centres. The government aims to fully vaccinate 3 million teens before the start of the next school year. At the moment, teens are offered Pfizer vaccines which have been authorised to be administered for teens aged 12 to 17 years old. Health regulators have also given Sinovac vaccine the green light and it can be used for teens with allergies or who are unable to receive the Pfizer vaccine.

The progress of the teen vaccination programme at the school level can be checked via the COVIDnow website. The dashboard will display the percentage of vaccinated students and staff as well as the breakdown of age groups.

As of yesterday, a total of 23.4 million or 71.8% of Malaysia’s total population have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, which is ahead of several developing nations including Japan, United Kingdom, United States and South Korea. In terms of the adult population, over 94% have been fully vaccinated.

To ensure optimal protection against COVID-19, the government has started offering booster shots for individuals who are fully vaccinated with Pfizer and Sinovac vaccines. Individuals who are fully vaccinated with Sinovac will be given Pfizer as their booster shot and it is currently prioritised for senior citizens aged 60 years old and above. The general public will get their COVID-19 booster vaccines through private clinics and hospitals. Eligible individuals will be informed about their booster shot appointment via MySejahtera or SMS.

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