KUCHING, May 27: The AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine will now be included as part of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.
Programme coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin disclosed during a virtual press conference today that the vaccine will no longer be opt-in, after thousands of Malaysians expressed frustration yesterday with the online registration process when attempting to register for the vaccine.
“There is only so many days of heart attacks and frustrations that I can endure also. So we are taking that online registration option off.
“Initially, the AstraZeneca vaccine opt-in programme was created because there was hesitancy towards it due to reports of blood clot issues,” Khairy said.
However, the strong response to the opt-in for this vaccine led to technical problems resulting in many users facing problems accessing several features on the website yesterday when registrations were opened to those aged 18 and above.
Since it is obvious that AstraZeneca has been accepted by the people, Khairy asserted, a decision has been made that AstraZeneca will now be included in the mainstream vaccination programme.
The Malaysian government came under fire after thousands of frustrated Malaysians failed to successfully register for the third round of the opt-in AztraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine programme on the Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee (JKJAV) website yesterday. — DayakDaily
