KUALA LUMPUR:The Malaysian Health Coalition (MHC) welcomes the government’s decision to offer free COVID-19 vaccine for all residents in Malaysia, including undocumented immigrants to achieve herd immunity and health equity.

Still, the government has to convince the public and ensure entitled people register for the vaccine and combat vaccine misinformation and conspiracy theories that spread like the virus, said MHC in a statement today.

It said mass public education campaign is needed to educate the public and help them understand the basic science behind the vaccine to improve health literacy and awareness among the public, and answers to their reasonable questions should be made available too.

MHC also urged that the National COVID-19 Immunisation Plan be released without delay for public inquiry since it is better to tackle the public concerns and allow them to provide suggestions for improvement.

It said as will take months to achieve the herd immunity, all residents are advised to take precautionary measures and adhere to the standard operating procedures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

-- BERNAMA