More aggressive push for elderly to register for AstraZeneca vaccine needed - Health expert

Universiti Putra Malaysia Medical and Public Health Faculty medical expert Assoc Prof Dr Malina Osman said the matter should be considered in detail to speed up the vaccination process for the group and help reach the vaccination target of 80 per cent of the population to achieve herd immunity.

She said an aggressive registration approach of engaging the elderly was better because the group might face difficulty registering online without assistance from others.

"At this point, we cannot wait and hope for them (the elderly) to come to us (and register online) for the vaccine, we need to reach out to them ourselves, especially those without online registration access.

"Other methods of registration can be used, especially when they come to hospitals or clinics for medical check-ups. This will speed up the vaccine registration process and the effort can involve the cooperation of the private sector," she said when contacted by Bernama today.

She was commenting on the second round of voluntary AstraZeneca vaccine registration, especially for those 60 years and above yesterday, which is said to be rather slow and not encouraging compared to the first round held on May 2.

Dr Malina said that logistically, the choice of vaccination centres (PPV) also impacted the vaccine registration trend.

"The total of AstraZeneca PPV locations need to be increased to make it easier for the public to choose the nearest and most accessible locations, especially for the elderly who live in rural areas," she said.

She also suggested that the percentage of appointment slots that are still available after 24 hours of registration be disclosed to enable others to book their slots.

In addition, she said the surrounding community, especially family members and children, must also play their role in convincing their parents to be vaccinated.

As such, she said children should explain to their parents the aims and benefits of vaccination based on accurate information so as to break the chain of COVID-19 infection.

"With the disease spreading once again, we need to speed up the immunisation process and we cannot deny that many Malaysians want to be vaccinated and are waiting for their turn," she added.

The second round of registrations for the voluntary AstraZeneca vaccinations opened yesterday until Wednesday (May 26) for residents in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor, Penang and Sarawak, with priority given to those aged 60 and above, while registrations for those under 60 will be at a later date.

As of noon today, in Selangor, the slots for vaccination appointments for June 7 to June 22 at the PPV in Dewan Gemilang, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Ideal Convention Centre Shah Alam (IDCC) have been filled.

The slots for June 7-8 at the PPV at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur (WTCKL) and for June 7-16 at the PPV in Dewan 1, Bangunan Peperiksaan, Universiti Malaya (UM), Kuala Lumpur had also been fully taken up.

In addition, the slots for June 7-14 at the PPV in Persada Johor International Convention Centre (PJICC), Johor; June 7-13 at the PPV at the Spice Arena Convention Centre, Bayan Baru (SPICE), Penang and June 7-9 at the PPV at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK), Sarawak have also been filled.