Yesterday, several social media posts alleged that Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has not been vaccinated against COVID-19. The posts have also attached screenshots and screen recordings of the VaksinCovid.gov.my appointment checker page showing that he has not received an appointment after searching using his IC and mobile number.
Khairy Jamaluddin has responded via Instagram stories with a picture of him receiving the COVID-19 vaccine jab. He added a caption “Anti-vaxxers spreading fake news saying I am not vaccinated. Conveniently forgetting that I was vaccinated on Live TV”.
Khairy was the first person in Malaysia to receive the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine after promising that he will take the next vaccine approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA). After getting his Sinovac jab, he delivered a message in Mandarin assuring that the COVID-19 vaccines approved by the NPRA are safe.
As recommended by the Technical Working Group of the COVID-19 Immunisation Task Force, Khairy has also received his Pfizer booster in September. He also assured that heterologous boosters (mix and match) are safe and he’s part of #TeamSSP (Sinovac+Sinovac+Pfizer).
Khairy also said the details on VaksinCovid website are not accurate as it is no longer active and has not been updated since October 2021. At the time of writing, the website is now showing a pop-up that says that the website is no longer updated after 90% of total adults in Malaysia have been vaccinated.
[ UPDATE ] Khairy has also shared his vaccine certificate on his Facebook page.
Malaysia is currently administering booster shots for eligible adults 3 months after being fully vaccinated with Pfizer, Sinovac, AstraZeneca, and CanSino Bio vaccines. This week, more than half of Sinovac recipients have received their boosters and almost 90% of them have gotten Pfizer as their booster dose. Sinovac vaccines can be offered as an alternative especially for individuals with severe allergies and can’t take mRNA-based vaccines.
The vaccine booster appointments are being pushed automatically via MySejahtera. For those who can’t wait, you are urged to register on the waiting list of your preferred PPV or clinics. Walk-in is currently not allowed as it makes it harder to social distance and there’s a high chance that you could be turned down if there are no spare vaccine doses available.
As announced last month, all senior citizens and all Sinovac recipients must get their booster shot by February 2022 in order to maintain their “fully vaccinated” status in MySejahtera. Recently, there was a study that suggests that two Sinovac doses and one Pfizer booster are less effective against Omicron. The Ministry of Health says they are still evaluating the data before deciding if another booster is necessary.
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