Deadline for free vaccine for children on May 15

suppadmin | April 14, 2022

Deputy Premier, Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian urged parents who have not vaccinate their children to do so as soon as possible.

Dr Sim said by May 15 next month, there will be no more vaccines offered as the first dose under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids).

He said parents who have agreed to have their children vaccinated will be given an appointment before the deadline.

Deputy Health Minister I Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali announced in KL that the deadline was set by the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force for Children (CITF-C) due to the low take-up rate, which could lead to high vaccine wastage.

PICKids kicked off in February and as of Tuesday (April 13), only a total of 1,371,120 or 28.6% of children in the country have received the first dose, while 195,865 children have completed two jabs of the vaccine.

He added that after the deadline, the Cominarty Covid-19 vaccine for children will no longer be offered at any public and private health facilities in Malaysia. The Coronavac vaccine can only be obtained for a fee at private facilities.