Sarawak has achieved 52.8 per cent inoculation rate for children within a month after the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Kids (PICKids) began, said state Health deputy director (Public Health) Dr Rosemawati Ariffin.

She revealed a total of 150,927 out of a total 286,000 children eligible for the immunisation programme have been successfully vaccinated since PICKids in Sarawak started on Feb 3.

“For information, Sarawak is still implementing PICKids using a school-based approach by targeting students in schools, kindergartens and nurseries as well as increasing walk-in vaccinations at vaccination centres (PPVs) in stages.

“Until now, the implementation of PICKids through a school-based approach is very encouraging.

“A total of 46,475 (or 25 per cent) out of 185,900 children who did not register in the MySejahtera app were given the Covid-19 vaccine in schools and a total of 906 (70.8 per cent) out of 1,279 schools have already been visited for PICKids.

“Sarawak is targeting 100 per cent of schools to be visited under PICKids by the end of the second week of March 2022,” she said in a statement.

She also said PPV outreach conducted by Ministry of Health (MOH) health personnel as well as private medical practitioners to rural and remote areas in Sarawak will continue to ensure children in the area also gain access to the Covid-19 vaccine.

In line with strategies to expand vaccination coverage, she disclosed several PPVs in Sarawak will implement walk-in vaccination starting today (March 5) at Dewan Suarah Sibu (Sibu), Kota Samarahan Health Clinic (Samarahan) and Bintulu Health Clinic (Bintulu).

“Parents are encouraged to call the PPV in advance before sending their children to receive the injection,” she said.

Deputy Minister of Health Datuk Dr. Noor Azmi Ghazali recently had said that parents and guardians can bring children to get vaccination without an appointment (walk-in) at selected PPVs starting March 1.

Dr Noor Azmi was quoted in news reports on March 3 as saying that an additional 412 PPVs throughout Malaysia have been provided for walk-in basis under the PICKids.

It was also reported that as of March 2, a total of 929,733 children or 26.2 per cent of the children’s population aged between five to 11 years old in Malaysia have received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine.

Source:
courtesy of THE BORNEO POST

by SAMUEL AUBREY

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