KUCHING, Jan 2: The Sarawak government is prepared to cooperate with the Ministry of Health (MoH) to inoculate children aged 3 to 11 for Covid-19 vaccination next month as the State moves into Phase 4 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) tomorrow with children prepared to go back to physical classes, said Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian.
“When Sarawak moves into Phase 4 of the NRP, the most concerning matter is children going back to schools for physical classes as most sectors have already opened in Phase 3.
“Given the resumption of face-to-face classes in Phase 4 of NRP, I have discussed vaccination for children with the Health Minister (Khairy Jamaluddin).
“He said by February 2022, MoH will begin to inoculate children between 3 and 11 years olds,” said the Batu Kawah assemblyman during Kuching South City Council (MBKS) mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng’s Facebook live session entitled “Shall Wee Talk” yesterday.
He said children aged 3 to 11 would be administered with the Pfizer BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
However, the incoming deputy chief minister explained that the number of vaccines to be jabbed for children aged 3 to 11 is less than the one received by adults.
On Oct 29 last year, Khairy said the government would procure the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for children in Malaysia as the US Food and Drug Administration has recommended the vaccine for those between ages 5 and 12.
On the other hand, Dr Sim, a cardiologist, reminded the public to remain vigilant as projections from medical experts have shown that the Omicron variant could exhibit a higher infectivity rate by February 2022.
Dr Sim believed the Omicron variant, despite having a higher infectivity rate, could be controlled and eventually be eliminated if the public fully practises public health measures and comply with the standard operating procedures (SOP). — DayakDaily
