KUALA LUMPUR: Those allergic to a particular vaccine cannot use it as a reason to avoid vaccination, says Khairy Jamaluddin.
"Those who are seeking not to take the vaccine on medical grounds such as allergies, must get this certified by the district health officer," said the Health Minister.
"The health officer will recommend that a different vaccine is given instead.
"For example, if a person is allergic to Pfizer, they will be offered Sinovac instead," the Health Minister said when answering a question raised by Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis (Warisan-Kota Belud) in Dewan Rakyat on Monday (Oct 4).
Khairy noted that there are those who are unable to get vaccinated due to health reasons.
As such, he said that they would be subject to strict standard operating procedures.
He added that this group of individuals would be considered as having a high risk of infection.
He added that those who aren't able to get vaccinated owing to health reasons, may apply to get the vaccination exemption notification on their MySejahtera app.
On anti-vaxxers and those under the "vaccine hesitant" group, Khairy said that the numbers were small compared to those vaccinated.
"Based on statistics by the Statistics Department, a total of 94.3% of adults in the country have received at least one dose of vaccine so far, with 87.6% completing their full dose.
"This shows that the number of those not vaccinated is low," he added.
He also noted that the Public Service Department has also made it mandatory for all civil servants to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.
"I believe that the private sector will also be following suit to make it compulsory for their employees to be vaccinated," he added.
As of last week, 98% of civil servants have been vaccinated, with the remaining 1.6% (16,902 people) yet to register.
Khairy said that the ministry will also be relying on data to educate the public on the significance of the benefits to promote vaccination among the vaccine hesitant.
