M'sians in two minds over possibility of choosing vaccines

PETALING JAYA: Malaysians are in two minds when it comes to the possibility of allowing everyone to pick the vaccine that they want, with some saying that the system must be efficient to ensure that all will be quickly vaccinated.

Many also urged the government to allow private hospitals and clinics to be allowed to administer the Covid-19 vaccine to speed up the rollout of the national vaccination plan.

Facebook user Linda Tee said the proposal should have been in place from the onset of the National Covid-19 Vaccination Programme.

"@KhairyJamaluddin, yes, let the people choose and please allow them to use the nationwide clinic network to vaccinate communities at a higher speed," she said in response to the report that the government is considering allowing the public to choose the vaccine that they want.

The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin on Thursday (May 27) said the MySejahtera app could be updated to include that option, as well as the venue and date to get it.

Tee also urged the government to find ways to reduce the crowd and address parking issues at the respective vaccine dispensing centres.

"Please get this going fast. Tolong (please) lah, KJ (Khairy) & PM (Prime Minister). Before our population and economy suffer any further," she said.

Nik Huang also concurred saying that the proposal was a great idea.

"This is what we want. (To) choose our preferred vaccine. Please just have a vaccine selection choice in the MySejahtera app to streamline, assign specific PPV centres to administer the respective vaccines," he suggested.

Sasee Tharan also agreed, saying that the idea should have been done since the beginning of the vaccination programme.

"We could have seen the public confidently coming for the vaccination," he said.

Elaine Chan said the government should speed up the vaccination process as the daily Covid-19 cases are increasing at an alarming rate every day.

User Chandra Gandhi Kuppusamy said the government must expand resources to speed up vaccination for those who want it as soon as possible.

"For those who want to choose, they must be willing to wait and get vaccinated later. Everyone's needs are met, right!" he said.

Grace Lee said the government should not only allow the public to choose the types of vaccines but should consider opening up private hospitals or clinics to buy vaccines so more people can have access to it.

"Or else, looking at the current speed of the vaccination plan, when will our country achieve herd immunity?" she asked.

However, some have disagreed with the proposal, such as Mawaddah Ghazali who said that it will be a wrong move to allow people to select their vaccine of choice.

“What happened to the earlier approach promoting the same effectiveness of all types of vaccines? The priority now is to vaccinate more and more people.

“This method will only create more problems on your side. How are you going to manage, how much to procure and there might be wastage of certain types of vaccines as ppl will choose based on their preferences. Please just improve the current system," she said.

Others such as Azahemy Abdullah asked the government not to allow such an option.

"Roll out whichever (is) available. Avoid unnecessary complications to an already slow process," he said.

Cynthia Kim said that it is not a wise move to allow the public to choose their own vaccine brands but instead be based on the profile of each individual.

"Whoever falls into any category, just take that jab without having the option to choose. Allowing people to choose is like opening the floodgate.

"What's pivotal now is to get as many people vaccinated as possible to achieve herd immunity and to put a halt to the virus from spreading like wildfire.

Many ppl are suffering from this pandemic (job loss, mental health, etc) and we need and have to flatten the curve down. We want to get our lives back!” she added.

Haikal Lim said that there is no need to allow for such an option.

"The main thing now is to speed up the vaccine for the rakyat. The more options you give the more problems you will face later. Just give whatever is possible," he said.

Alan Wong said that such would slow down the vaccination progress.

"People tend to listen to rumours. Today if the person registered for brand A (for instance), and if there is any unfavourable news, or after the listen to their friends, they will change their minds.

"Some may not even turn up for the vaccination," he said.

"We are not scientists and if the national pharmaceutical body approved a vaccine, it means it works and is safe.

"Eventually more people will sign up and gain confidence after their family members are jabbed," added Wong.

Nazura Nazrin said: “There's no premium vaccine folks just take one and go please," she said.

Ong Siew Ai said the government should really get its vaccination priority right.

"Speed up the vaccination program n those want to choose can go to private hospitals or wait at the back of the queue," said Ong

On Thursday, Khairy said the AstraZeneca vaccine would no longer be offered as an opt-in choice and used as part of the national immunisation programme.

He said the opt-in programme was created because there was initial hesitancy towards the AstraZeneca vaccine due to a blood clot issue, but response to opt-in for the vaccine has been very good.

There are three vaccines so far approved for use - Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Sinovac.