Apply for walk-in waiting list

PETALING JAYA: Those who want to get Covid-19 jabs, including booster shots, but do not have appointments, can apply to be on the walk-in waiting list, says the Health Ministry.

It said those who registered for the waiting list would be contacted by private health facilities to replace no-shows or cancellations and get vaccinated on a walk-in basis.

“The Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force-Booster (CITF-B) meeting chaired by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin agreed to implement walk-in registration.

“Registration to be on the waiting list for walk-ins at private vaccine centres (PPV) will start on Nov 22.

“The registration is for those who are eligible for booster shots, individuals who want to be vaccinated earlier than their appointment dates, individuals who have not received their first or second Covid-19 vaccine doses, those who missed their appointments and adolescents aged 12 to 17 who have not completed their vaccination dosage,” it said.

But it said priority for the administration of booster shots would be for frontliners, individuals aged 40 and above, those aged 18 and above with comorbidities, residents and workers of long-term healthcare facilities, pregnant women and those who need to travel abroad.

Registration to be on the walk-in waiting list can be done via phone, email or by visiting private PPV that offer the services.

“The public can view the list of PPV offering the walk-in registration services at www.protecthealth.com.my from Nov 22,” it added.

CITF-B said the latest approach would make it easier for individuals who were eligible for booster shots to get their jabs faster.

“This approach also helps the government ensure that the vaccines are not wasted and can be used optimally,” the ministry said.

Malaysia has administered one million Covid-19 booster shots so far.

Separately, the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) has approved the shelf life extension for Covid-19 vaccines by Sinovac (CoronaVac) and Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty).

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said NPRA had approved the respective applications from Pharmaniaga Lifescience Sdn Bhd and Pfizer (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.

“The shelf life extension for the products has been given based on the latest stability data submitted by the respective manufacturers,” he said in a statement.

He said an additional six months was given from the original date printed on the label of the CoronaVac vaccine with the registration number MAL21046125ACSZ.

“The shelf life extension from six to 12 months is for vaccine vials stored at 2-8°C,” he said.

For Comirnaty, he said a three-month extension was given from the original date printed on the vial.

“The shelf life extension from six to nine months is for vaccine vials stored at a temperature of between -90°C and -60°C,” he said, adding that the shelf life extension also applied retrospectively to all previous stocks.“The manufacturer has been given six months from the date of approval of the variation application to update the expiry date printed on the vial label for the vaccine product to be manufactured,” he said.