PETALING JAYA: All residents in Malaysia aged 18 and above can now walk in into any vaccination centre in the country to receive Covid-19 Vaccine booster shots, says the Health Ministry.
In a statement on Friday (Jan 28), Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the public could walk in for the jabs starting Saturday (Jan 29).
He said individuals who wanted to go to general practitioner clinics for their booster shots should contact them first to ask about timing for their appointments.
"This is to avoid crowding and ensure standard operating procedures are complied with at all times.
"The list of GP vaccination centres and offsite vaccination centres can be accessed via the www.protecthealth.com.my website," he said.
Khairy added that as of Thursday (Jan 27), 11,531,403 individuals, or 49% of the population over the age of 18 had already received their booster shots.
"In order to ensure more people get optimum immunity following the upward trend in Covid-19 cases and clusters recently, the Health Ministry will increase the capacity and rate of giving booster shots.
"The type of vaccine given is limited based on supply available at each vaccination centre.
"Individuals who choose to walk in must have their digital vaccination certificate on MySejahtera in order to smoothen the process," he said, adding that individuals who did not own smartphones must bring their vaccination card along.
Khairy also said he expects the movement of people to increase with more social and family gatherings in conjunction with the upcoming Chinese New Year festivities.
"With that, the ministry encourages Malaysians who are eligible to receive booster shots to do so immediately in order to protect themselves, their families and the community, especially senior citizens, children, pregnant women and those with comorbidities as well as those who cannot receive vaccinations due to medical conditions," he said.
ProtectHealth said in a separate statement on Friday that those with MySejahtera appointments will be given priority at vaccination centres and jabs would be offered on a first come, first served basis.
"It is possible, depending on demand, that some people will be asked to return the following day if the session they attend reaches full capacity.
"Vaccine recipients are advised to adhere to SOP and not congregate at the centres to avoid overcrowding," it added.
