Thumbs-up for AZ opt-in

The sooner, the better: Khairy (right) together with Dr Adham during the press conference in Putrajaya advocating for more people to be vaccinated soon. — Bernama

PETALING JAYA: Malaysians outside Selangor and Kuala Lumpur are now eagerly awaiting the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine opt-in programme in other states.

The announcement was well received, with many Malaysians responding with excitement while some advocated for states with higher Covid-19 caseloads to be prioritised.

@Shane_Subra suggested on Twitter that urban centres should be given first dibs.

“YB, I hope KKM considers other urban centres later – Penang, JB, Kuching, KK and important for me – Seremban, ” with “KKM” referring to the Health Ministry.

Echoing the emphasis on Seremban, @memezibang said many who live in the city actually have to commute to work daily to Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, making the jab a necessity for them.

@fang_phang from Penang also welcomed the announcement, adding that “When the vaccination coverage is high, we can beat this demon.”

Jason Chan said he could not wait for the vaccines to arrive in Penang where he currently resides.

“All of us need to be vaccinated in order to achieve herd immunity. That should be the top priority.

“I think it’s a smart move by the government to open up the AstraZeneca vaccine for people to take it voluntarily.

“Hopefully with more people vaccinated, those who are sceptical will have more confidence in being vaccinated, ” he said.

Regarding the perceived risks, Chan said: “As much as there are many negative things said about the side effects of the vaccine, I think a lot of people just cannot wait to be vaccinated. I am one of them.”

@ssaravs agreed with the general positive sentiment and said: “If you are not from the Klang Valley, hopefully you can book AstraZeneca by the end of this month when more doses arrive, unless your state declines.”

Chey Vun Kheng took to Facebook to congratulate Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and his team while offering a message of support, saying: “Now please open up online registration for the rest of us outside Selangor/ KL.”

“We are in this together. The sooner we get jabbed, the better!”

Arif Budi also reacted positively to the announcement on Facebook, saying: “Thank you Khairy for speeding up the immunisation. Malaysia can (win the) race against Covid-19, ” giving the thumbs-up emoji.

Khairy is the coordinating minister of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.