Registration deadline a good move

Orderly and organised: A signboard directing vaccine recipients to the waiting area is on display at KPJ Tawakal hospital in Kuala Lumpur.

PETALING JAYA: Setting a deadline for vaccine registration may help speed up the country’s mass inoculation programme, say health experts.

However, they cautioned that the deadline, if one is set, must offer adequate time for those who are unsure about vaccinations to overcome their hesitancy.

Malaysian Medical Association president Datuk Dr Subramaniam Muniandy said the government should set deadline targets for registrations and encourage the public in reaching those goals.

He added that push reminders should also be sent through the MySejahtera app.

“The decision to make phone calls and house visits will be a good move too, especially in reaching out to rural communities.

“But the government will need to ensure that the system is able to quickly detect duplicates in registrations.

“All leaders also have an important role to play in getting their communities to register early, ” said Dr Subramaniam.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin recently said that the government might consider setting a deadline for Covid-19 vaccine registration.

“For example, let’s say if we close by June, those who did not register by the end of the month will not get the vaccination. This will (help) the immunisation committee plan everything in detail, ” he said.

Universiti Malaya epidemiologist Prof Datuk Dr Awang Bulgiba Awang Mahmud said the reasons for setting a deadline for vaccine registration must be clearly communicated.

“According to media reports, the government has already purchased enough vaccines for all Malaysians, including for children who are not yet cleared for vaccination.

“This means storage space needs to be set aside for millions of doses that require expensive ultra-low temperature freezers.

“If the vaccines are not used, we will have a problem storing them as we can’t keep buying such freezers.

“We need to remember that many of the vaccines do not have a long shelf life so we can’t store them indefinitely, ” he said.

Dr Awang Bulgiba, however, said that setting a deadline might cause anti-vaccination groups to harden their stance and claim that people were being forced to be vaccinated.

As Phases 2 and 3 start soon, he said the pace of registration had to be stepped up and detailed information must be provided on which method is more effective in getting people to register.

Dr Awang Bulgiba, the head of the Independent Covid-19 Vaccination Advisory Committee, also recommended that the government identify those with comorbidities.

“There are several databases which can be used to identify them although they are not necessarily comprehensive and updated.

“The info can still be used to determine where they live so they can be matched to the nearest vaccination centre before invitations are sent out for them to register.

“People may even submit their registration forms via their local community leaders, ” he said, pointing to Sarawak which uses district offices to send out registration forms to village heads to distribute to their communities.

The government must convey clearly the need for vaccination, he added, proposing that it consults behavioural scientists and communication specialists.

Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia president Dr Raj Kumar Maharajah said setting June as the deadline was necessary to ensure the Health Ministry could plan the vaccination process smoothly.

“If you leave it open, everyone will be waiting, and there will be a rush at the last minute.

“As we know, the virus is mutating so we don’t know if we need vaccinations annually or not. We need to be fair to the ministry, ” he said.Dr Raj Kumar added that personal calls and house visits could help convince those still on the fence.

“The personal touch will help. General practitioners (GPs) too have a major role to play because we are family doctors in the community that patients know and trust.

“That is why it is important to get GPs vaccinated quickly so we can showcase ourselves as examples, ” he said.

He said there was also a need to set a deadline which is achievable with the resources that were currently available so that the frontliners would not be overstretched.

However, Dr Raj Kumar said some who remain undecided might end up missing the deadline.

Prof Dr Victor Hoe from Universiti Malaya’s Department of Social and Preventive Medicine said a deadline would help prevent wastage.

“However, this policy needs to be supported by measures to help people register for the vaccine.

“Malaysia is a big country and we have people staying in urban, semi-urban and remote areas, and ease of access to healthcare facilities may differ, ” he said.