COVID-19 vaccination for kids aged 12 and above
With over 1.7 million people fully vaccinated, Malaysia’s battle against the COVID-19 pandemic continues. The National Immunisation Programme or PICK that kickstarted in February aims to inoculate at least 80% of the population to achieve herd immunity.
After a series of discussions and weighing the pros and cons, the government has announced that kids aged 12 to 18 can be registered for COVID-19 vaccination soon.
Registration for vaccination via MySejahtera
Image credit: MCA
Vaccination for children is something a lot of parents had asked for since last year. Many have actually raised concerns over the potential risks of COVID-19 for kids who are left unprotected in the absence of a vaccine.
According to a report on The Star on Monday, 21st June 2o21, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination jabs for kids aged 12 and above have been approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).
On the same day, Berita Harian also reported that parents can register their children as dependents for COVID-19 vaccinations in the MySejahtera application. This can be done by clicking the “COVID-19 Vaccination” tab in the application, followed by the “Add dependent” option. Here, parents can fill in the details of their children such as name, IC number, age, and more, before submitting the application.
Malaysia’s road to herd immunity
Image credit: Our World in Data
It is also worth noting that the decision to inoculate children is actually part of the fifth phase of the national immunisation programme. Earlier this month, The Star quoted Health Minister Dr Adham Baba saying that children aged 12 to 17 will be included in the fifth phase of PICK, which is expected to begin sometime in August 2021.
However, in a press conference on Monday, Khairy Jamaluddin, the Coordinating Minister for PICK clarified that the method for administering Pfizer jabs for children and the exact date will be announced later, after another meeting has been held.
“The decision will be based on the advice and recommendations made by the Expert Working Group,” he was quoted as saying by Harian Metro.
Registering kids for COVID-19 vaccination
It’s indeed good news that children above 12 will soon be getting their COVID-19 vaccines so that they will be able to stay protected from the virus just like the rest of us. We hope the rollout of the vaccine will be happening soon and that parents will stay up to date with the registration process. Let’s do our part to help Malaysia achieve herd immunity as soon as possible by signing up for vaccinations.
Read more here:
- Interstate and overseas travel possible for fully vaccinated Malaysians
- Vaccinations for those under 60 are now being carried out
- 50% of KL and Putrajaya inhabitants vaccinated
Cover image adapted from: Asian Development Bank and Media Rasmi SMK Kota Kemuning