Health Ministry to study need to provide influenza vaccination to public

KUALA TERENGGANU: The Health Ministry will study the need to provide influenza vaccination to the public especially for those at risk, says its Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa (pic).

However, she said as the number of influenza cases in the country was currently under control, in the initial stage, the vaccine would only be given to Health Ministry front-line workers.

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In addition, she said the public health facilities available nationwide should be able to accommodate more patients if there is a surge in the number of cases soon.

"Based on Health Ministry data, for the 30th epidemiological week this year, the consultation rate for influenza-like illness (ILI) at Health Clinics is 6.3%, a drop from the 6.4% in the previous week.

"The hospital admission rate is 7.1%, also a slight decrease. There are cases but as of last week the number dropped... the situation is under control," she said after officiating at Manir Health Clinic here on Sunday (Aug 6).

In another development, Dr Zaliha said Dungun Hospital, which was earlier classified as a sick project, was already 99% complete and was expected to be operational next year.

She said the Dungun Hospital construction project which started in Feb 2016 after it was approved under the Fourth Rolling Plan (RP4), 10th Malaysia Plan (RMK-10) at a cost of RM125mil, should have been completed in March 2022.

However, following the Movement Control Order (MCO) and problems with the contractors, the project was abandoned and it took quite some time for work to resume.

When completed, Dungun Hospital would become the third specialist hospital in Terengganu after Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital (HSNZ) and Kemaman Hospital.

The 110-bed hospital offered 10 speciality services including emergency, medicine, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, anaesthesiology, orthopaedics, psychiatry, dentistry and pathology. - Bernama