KANGAR, April 27 — Coordinating Minister for the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme Khairy Jamaluddin will convene further discussions with Minister of Health Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba on the use of AstraZeneca vaccine.
He said the discussion was deemed necessary after taking into consideration the public anxiety about the safety and efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine to be used in the immunisation programme.
“I will hold further discussions with Dr Adham on this matter later today after taking into consideration the concerns of the people who discussed it openly on social media yesterday with some have even begun to feel afraid of getting vaccinated. I will announce (the outcome) tomorrow,” he told reporters after vising the Vaccination Centre at Dewan Wawasan 2020 here today.
He said despite having all scientific data that proves the AstraZeneca is safe, public fear and anxiety should not be ignored.
“I have to take into account the opinion of the people who are disturbed by this. We don’t want the vaccine to jeopardise the immunisation programme,” he said.
Yesterday, Dr Adham said the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and will be given to those aged 60 and above in the second phase of the immunisation programme.
Meanwhile, Khairy said 65,849 people or 35 per cent of the adult population have registered for vaccination in the state.
“In this second phase, 23,550 senior citizens, chronic patients and persons with disabilities have registered for vaccination and 17,622 appointments have been set so far,” he added.
