Muhyiddin: Agencies, NGOs, society leaders to promote Covid-19 vaccination

PUTRAJAYA: Government agencies, NGOs and society leaders will be engaged to encourage Malaysians to register for the Covid-19 vaccination, said Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (pic).

“This includes leaders in rural areas, such as village heads, Village Development and Safety Committee (JKKK) and the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa).

“They will encourage vaccination among those living in interior areas, Sabah and Sarawak, ” he said at a press conference for the launch of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Plan handbook in Putrajaya on Tuesday (Feb 16).

He said that the government will also be actively educating the people about the benefits of the Covid-19 vaccination

Muhyiddin said this when asked about the steps to be taken if the voluntary vaccination programme does not achieve the target herd immunity.

“We have made the decision that it will not be mandatory and it will be voluntary in nature, and most countries will be doing this on a similar basis. What is important now is to spread the word around that vaccination is generally safe," he said.

“The way we are putting this forward to people and convincing them is through various media strategies and campaigns, ” added Muhyiddin.

He said people need to be convinced of the long-term advantages of vaccination, especially as this would affect their mobility should there be countries imposing travel restrictions on those who have not been vaccinated.

Meanwhile, Muhyiddin added that the government has not yet invoked its Emergency powers to take over private healthcare facilities and assets to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The private sector is ready to lend its assistance and support. For instance, private hospitals on the whole are willing to provide their facilities such as beds, equipment and nurses.

“So although we have powers under the Emergency, we did not feel the need to enforce such powers seeing such a good response (from the private sector), ” he said.