More than 900,000 children in Malaysia given COVID-19 vaccine

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 904,368 children aged between five and 11 years, or 25.5 per cent of the child population, in Malaysia have been given the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine under the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids) as of yesterday.

Based on the COVIDNOW website, a total of 14,736,569 individuals or 62.6 per cent of the adult population have received the COVID-19 booster dose and 22,950,422 or 97.5 per cent have completed the vaccination, while 23,230,349 individuals or 98.7 per cent have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

For adolescents aged between 12 and 17, a total of 2,801,714 individuals or 90 per cent of their population have completed the vaccination, while 2,897,292 or 93.1 per cent have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Yesterday, a total of 101,038 doses of the vaccine were dispensed, with 26,476 as first dose, 1,300 as second dose and 73,262 as booster dose, bringing the cumulative number of vaccine doses administered under the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) to 67,313,182.

Meanwhile, according to the Health Ministry's GitHub portal, a total of 78 deaths due to COVID-19 were recorded yesterday, with 21 cases in Johor, followed by Kedah (15), Selangor (13), Perak (nine), Sabah (six), Penang (five), two each in Kelantan, Melaka and Terengganu, while Negeri Sembilan, Pahang and Kuala Lumpur recorded one death each.

-- BERNAMA