2,082 firms have registered for PIKAS COVID-19 vaccination - Azmin

Senior Minister cum International Trade and Industry (MITI) Minister, Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said, from the total, 255 companies involving 14,357 workers were industry players in Johor.

"I hope this programme will proceed smoothly and can be completed on schedule.

"I was given the assurance by the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme Coordinating Minister who is also Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba that the supply of vaccines will be stepped up in July and August.

"This is to meet the need of the economic sector because the implementation of PIKAS today is only for the manufacturing and factory sectors.

"After this, we will proceed with the plantation and construction sectors as well as other sectors," he told a media conference after visiting the industrial Vaccination Centre (PPV) at the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project in Pengerang here today.

Meanwhile, he said the government suggested that the industrial PPV under PIKAS will also vaccinated families and communities in the vicinity of the industries other than their workers in the effort to speed up vaccinating the people to achieve herd immunity.

"This is because the industrial PPVs are already in existence..they (private sector) is also prepared to extend this service to the families of the workers and also the local communities near the PPV," he said, adding that the process would be provided for free.

In another development, Mohamed Azmin said three more industrial PPVs were being planned in Penang soon to help speed up the vaccination of industrial workers.

"CITF (COVID-19 Immunisation Task Force) and the MITI teams will go down to the field to look at the facilities. If they fulfill the conditions set by the Ministry of Health (MOH), the three additional PPVs will be approved in the next one to two days," he said.

For the record, three onsite PPVs and six common use PPVs had been set up under PIKAS to date.

PIKAS was launched on June 12 as a response to the proposal of industrial associations, chambers of commerce and Small and Medium Enterprises to help speed up vaccination specifically involving workers with the vaccination conducted at identified factory premises and industrial locations.