ProtectHealth wants more private GPs to provide COVID-19 booster shots for the public

As announced by the Ministry of Health yesterday, Malaysia will begin administering COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for individuals who are fully vaccinated with Sinovac. This is in addition to the existing booster vaccination programme for high-risk groups who were fully vaccinated with Pfizer vaccines.

ProtectHealth, an incorporated entity appointed by the Ministry of Health to manage Private Medical Practitioners (PMP) participation in the COVID-19 vaccination programme, has welcomed the latest development. It wants to increase the number of PMP participation to provide greater accessibility and expand the reach of the booster dose delivery nationwide.

At the moment, there are 3,699 PMPs registered with ProtectHealth and 2,352 operate as vaccination centres (PPVs) under the National Immunisation Programme (PICK) as well as the National COVID-19 Immunisation Adolescent Programme (PICK Remaja).

Interested PMPs can register to participate via the ProtectHealth website. Existing PMPs who have already participated in past briefings, training and are ready to participate, can notify ProtectHealth via the Vaksin Control System (VCS) on the website.

As of 20th October 2021, ProtectHealth has helped to administer 23,017,792 doses (48%) of the total vaccine doses nationwide. As of 21st October, over 48.6 million vaccine doses have been administered and 71.8% of the total population in Malaysia have been fully vaccinated.

At the moment, Malaysia is offering booster shots for individuals who are fully vaccinated with Pfizer and Sinovac vaccines with priority given to frontliners and high-risk groups. The booster programme for Pfizer recipients is currently ongoing for frontliners in healthcare and armed forces as well as senior citizens aged 60 years old and above. Meanwhile, the booster programme for Sinovac recipients will start today for senior citizens aged 60 years old and above.

Eligible individuals who are fully vaccinated with Pfizer can get their Pfizer booster jab at least 6 months after completing their vaccination. Meanwhile, eligible individuals who are fully vaccinated with Sinovac will get the Pfizer jab at least 3 months after being fully vaccinated. The booster vaccination is free and voluntary. Eligible individuals will be informed about their appointment by MySejahtera or SMS.