The line of the people who require walk-in vaccination in the MBPJ Civic Hall has been snaking with lots of cars and people crowding the area. Bukit Gasing residents have raised their concerns over the issue and are afraid that this vaccination might cause an outbreak. This concern is very real especially when people are lining up to get in the first come first serve list from all over the Klang Valley.
The act of the government to centralize vaccination to 13 PPVs in the Klang Valley, especially based on the inaccurate statistics is foolish. The recent act to stop vaccination in all the private GP has also increased the traffic in all these 13 PPVs. I understand that some mega PPVs should be shut down as the demand has slowed, but it does not justify the discontinuation of the vaccination through the local GPs clinics. It is truly disappointing.
For the longest time, I have been calling to allow all GPs to administer vaccines, especially because they are closer to people and they do not have to travel far to receive their shots. Allowing 300 GPs to freely operate also means that the residents don’t have to queue for hours in order to obtain a shot. The sense of urgency and rush is created with the shut down of multiple PPVs in the Klang Valley. Allowing these GPs who are interested in operating consistently with a stable flow of vaccines, reassures the residents that vaccines are available. This will not put them in risky situations e.g. overcrowding a PPV.
Decentralising the vaccination process also means that undocumented migrant workers will feel more safe walking into a clinic they already trust and go to for their medical needs. CITF has acknowledged that vaccinating migrant workers poses a challenge, however mobilising these private clinics instills a sense of confidence that will encourage them to get vaccinated. Expecting them to go into a PPV where there are armed officials makes us delusional as it takes a lot of courage to show up. Some have already done it, however we are not aware of the numbers who have yet to come forward. Vaccinating everyone is vital and this would be a step in the right direction.
I strongly urge JKJAV to immediately decentralise the vaccination process and allow all the GPs who want to administer the vaccine to partake in this. It does not cost us much to equip each clinic with at least one batch of vaccines, even if the sceptics think that there is no need.
300 Clinics vs 13 Mega PPV? 300 clinics would certainly make vaccination more accessible. In the aim to vaccinate, lets make getting the jab easy and near, and let us not further spread this deadly virus by forcing them to congregate.