From a high of approximately 150,000 first dose Covid-19 vaccinations in the last week of July 2021, the first dose vaccination rate has now dropped to slightly over 30,000 doses a day in both KL Selangor combined.
We first heard earlier this month that clinics were no longer assigned to give first doses. Dr Steven Chow, president of the Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Associations, Malaysia (FPMPAM) claimed that GPs were no longer allowed to give the first vaccine dose[1]. Besides GPs, I have come to know that the sole Mega PPV in my constituency in MBPJ Civic Hall is also not assigned first dose appointments but only second dose appointments now.
We should not rest on our laurels. The rate needs to go back to its former levels to protect our society from Covid-19. The JKJAV (Jawatankuasa Khas Jaminan Akses Bekalan Vaksin Covid-19) has already conceded that it does not know how many adults are in the KL Selangor area due to migration and undocumented immigrants. But from statistics on their own website, there is 539,886 people who have registered for the vaccine that have yet to be vaccinated. And this doesn’t even include those who have yet to register or walk in for various reasons.
The JKJAV should reinstate all panel clinics for the first dose in order to make vaccination more accessible to the masses in KL Selangor areas, rather than the current practice of asking those without appointments to walk in to one of 10 centers which could be very far and would discourage many from walking in.
Unless the problem is that we are running low on vaccine supply? This surely can’t be the case as the Dewan Rakyat was recently told that Pharmaniaga has 3mil excess stock in its storage[2].
JKJAV needs to come clean on this, as slowing down vaccination in KL Selangor means putting lives at stake.