JKNM to implement improvements after foreigners wrongly granted PPV jabs

MELAKA, July 15  – The Melaka Health Department (JKNM) said it will be making improvements after 53 foreign workers turned up for COVID-19 jabs at a vaccine administration centre (PPV) meant for the Malaysian public today.

State Health and Anti-Drug Committee chairman, Datuk Rahmad Mariman, said they should have been given appointments at the industrial PPV.

“We want to apologise and will implement improvements to ensure foreigners from the industrial, construction and other sectors are vaccinated at specific PPVs like industrial PPVs where payment is required,” he said in a statement this evening.

Explaining the incident, he said the foreign workers arrived at the Dewan Haji Ahmad Ithnin PPV in two buses around 11.30am, but were asked by the PPV personnel to wait outside.

Once the hall was empty, a verification was done and it was discovered that they were listed in MySejahtera and had appointments for today at this PPV.

Rahmad said the workers were then given their jabs to avoid a delay, however only 39 people -- 31 Bangladeshis, 4 Nepalis and 4 Indonesians -- were eventually vaccinated because the PPV chief had reported the incident to the Jasin district health office at 1.13pm which ordered a vaccination halt.

Rahmad said the remaining 14 workers were asked to wait for an appointment at the industrial PPV.

He said that the workers who received their first dose today will be given an appointment for a second dose at the industrial PPV on Aug 5.

He said checks were done with the MySejahtera administrator under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and it was confirmed that the 53 workers were legitimately registered with the app.

Rahmad said he was told that the app does not identify nationality for Phase 3 vaccinations in the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK), however JKNM will ensure that Malaysian citizens are given priority at PPVs while foreign workers are vaccinated at the industrial PPV.

He added that vaccination notifications are sent by the MySejahtera app and not controlled by JKNM.

-- BERNAMA