Janet in Community News On May 28, 2021, 11:27 am

M’sians May Get To Pick Appointment Dates But Not Vaccines, As AstraZeneca Returns To PICK

AstraZeneca vaccines back in PICK

AstraZeneca vaccination registrations recently opened up to residents in 5 states. Showing their priorities at staying safe at this time, Malaysians impressively snatched up over 950,000 vaccine slots in under an hour despite registration setbacks.

Following rousing response from Malaysians, AstraZeneca vaccines – previously removed from the National Immunisation Programme (PICK) due to the public’s concerns over the vaccine – will be included in PICK again. Malaysians may also get to pick vaccines that they prefer, as well as venue and vaccination appointment dates, via MySejahtera in the near future.

Update: On 30th May 2021, Khairy announced that Malaysians will not get to pick their COVID-19 vaccines, as reported by Malay Mail. It is said that allowing citizens to do so may potentially slow down the vaccination programme in Malaysia, as the focus now is on getting as many individuals vaccinated as quickly as possible.

Malaysians may get to pick their vaccines soon

The announcement was made by National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin in a press conference yesterday.

According to a report by The Star on 27th May 2021, Khairy announced that AstraZeneca vaccines will no longer be available to Malaysians via opt-in registrations, as it will be included in PICK again.

This means that AstraZeneca vaccines will be administered alongside other vaccines currently used by Malaysia, such as Pfizer and Sinovac.

The overwhelming response from opt-in AstraZeneca registrations is said to have encouraged the move by authorities, as it shows less hesitance among Malaysians regarding the vaccine.

A senior citizen gets vaccinated in Melaka
Image credit: @JKJAVMY

Along with the return of AstraZeneca in PICK, Malaysians may get to choose their preferred vaccines too, via a new feature on MySejahtera, as well as Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee’s (JKJAV) website.

This is to make registrations smoother for Malaysians following the opt-in registration glitches on 26th May, which left many frustrated about being unable to access registration slots for AstraZeneca vaccines on JKJAV’s website.

Current total vaccination registrations in Malaysia
Image credit: @JKJAVMY

Other choices that will be opened up to Malaysians include picking their vaccination appointments’ venue and date, which is not currently allowed.

Any confirmed changes and updates to the current vaccination registration process will be announced in the following weeks, as confirmed by Khairy and reported by Malay Mail on 27th May.

More shipments for vaccines in June and July

The move to make the vaccination process easier for Malaysians comes as Malaysia is set to receive 25,682,670 vaccine doses in Q3.

This includes 12,800,000 Pfizer vaccines, of which 2,223,000 will arrive in Malaysia in June 2021. It will last for 5 weeks, with 444,600 doses for every week.

According to The Straits Times, 44.8 million Pfizer vaccines in total have been secured by Malaysia. This will be enough to cover 70% of our country’s population.

Vaccination centre in Titiwangsa, KL.
Image credit: @JKJAVMY

By June’s end, Malaysia is set to receive 4,974,840 Pfizer vaccine doses, as reported by The Star.

All in all, an expected 16 million vaccine doses will arrive in Malaysia by the end of July, as reported by The Edge Markets.

This includes the beforementioned 2.2 million Pfizer vaccines, as well as 12 million Sinovac vaccines and 1.2 million AstraZeneca vaccines.

No more opt-ins for AstraZeneca vaccines

Malaysians are looking forward to getting themselves vaccinated against COVID-19 so we can help bring daily cases, which have been reaching record highs, down in our country. With news of more vaccines hitting our shores soon, and a smoother process to get our vaccination appointments, we can all look forward to the coming months.