King visits KL Health Clinic vaccination centre

KUALA LUMPUR: The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah today visited the Kuala Lumpur Health Clinic here, which is both a vaccine storage centre (PSV) and vaccination centre (PPV), to observe COVID-19 immunisation activities.

His Majesty was welcomed by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah as well as Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya Federal Territories Health Department director Datuk Dr P. Param Jeeth Singh.

Upon arrival, Al-Sultan Abdullah was given a briefing on the clinic's operation by Family Medicine specialist and head of KKKL Dr Baizury Bashah.

The King then surveyed the vaccine storage room which keeps the Ultra-Low Temperature Freezer (ULTF) before visiting the screening station, registration counter, counselling station, vaccination station, monitoring station (where vaccine recipients are monitored for about 15 to 30 minutes to see if there are any side effects) and appointment station (for the second dose of vaccination).

At the vaccination station, Al-Sultan Abdullah observed health workers giving vaccine jabs to two frontliners, Environmental Health assistant officers Muhammad Asyaraf Zulkifli and Mohd Hafiz Sayuti.

From Feb 25 until today, a total of 2,490 KKKL frontliners have been vaccinated, which is 99.7 per cent of the target set for the health clinic while the remaining six recipients are scheduled to get their vaccine jabs tomorrow.

The second dose of the vaccination is scheduled to begin from March 18.

His Majesty also spent some time chatting with those who were present at the health clinic for treatment before leaving to visit the Sungai Besi vaccination centre.

Meanwhile, the King spent more than an hour at the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) vaccination centre in Kem Perdana Sungai Besi.

Al-Sultan Abdullah, who is also the Supreme Commander of the MAF, was welcomed by Chief of Defence Force Gen Tan Sri Affendi Buang.

His Majesty began the tour with a briefing session by COVID-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) joint director Lt Gen Datuk Mohammad Ab Rahman, who is also army deputy chief, and MAF Health Services director-general Lt Gen Datuk Dr Mohd Amin Muslan.

Al-Sultan Abdullah as informed that, as of yesterday, 17,224 MAF personnel had received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine jab.

The King, who was accompanied by Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, also observed 124 MAF personnel receiving their vaccination today.

The first phase of the MAF-level COVID-19 vaccination programme, which is divided into Phase 1A and Phase 1B, began on Feb 24.

Phase 1A, which ended on March 7, targeted all MAF health workers and strategic groups while Phase 1B, which is from March 8-April 30, is targeted at all MAF personnel as well as other enforcement and security teams under the National Task Force (NTF).

Phase 1B is being implemented simultaneously at all MAF vaccination centres nationwide.

The MAF has received a total of 40,950 doses out of the 84,240 vaccine doses for 42,120 personnel for phase one and they are kept at five MAF vaccine storage centres.

-- BERNAMA