COVID-19: Nearly 98,000 children in Malaysia given first dose of vaccine

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 97,975 children aged five to 11 years, or 2.7 per cent of the group in Malaysia, have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of yesterday .

They were given the vaccine under the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids), which was launched on Feb 3, and will receive their second dose within an eight-week interval.

Meanwhile, based on the COVIDNOW website, a total of 13,068,547 individuals, or 55.8 per cent of the adult population in the country, had received their booster dose as of yesterday.

A total of 22,935,622 individuals or 98 per cent of adults have completed their vaccination while 99.2 per cent or 23,211,391 individuals have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

As for adolescents aged 12 to 17, a total of 2,795,030 individuals or 88.8 per cent have completed their vaccination while 2,873,015 individuals or 91.3 per cent have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Yesterday, a total of 160,193 vaccine doses were dispensed, with 20,703 as the first dose, 1,578 the second dose and 137,912 as booster dose, bringing the cumulative total of vaccine doses administered under the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) to 64,776,270.

Meanwhile, according to the Health Ministry's Github portal, 24 COVID-19 deaths were reported yesterday, five in Kedah, four each in Johor and Sabah, three each in Pahang and Perak, two cases in Negeri Sembilan and one each in Perlis, Selangor and Terengganu.

-- BERNAMA