KUANTAN: The candidates for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) 2021 will be vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine starting next month, said National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

The vaccine shots will be administered at schools that will be used as vaccination centres (PPV), he said.

"We will start giving the vaccine to them in July as a preparation before they return to school later," he told a press conference after attending the Pahang-level COVID-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) meeting here today.

Also present were Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail and state Secretary Datuk Seri Dr Sallehuddin Ishak.

Yesterday, Senior Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin said the COVID-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) has agreed to the Education Ministry's (MOE) proposal that students sitting for major examinations this year be given the priority to be vaccinated.

Radzi said this was due to the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency's (NPRA) approval of the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children aged 12 and above.

Meanwhile, Khairy said 80 per cent of residents of Pahang and other states that would face the monsoon season are expected to be vaccinated by the end of October.

"We will try to rearrange the distribution schedule to take into account the states that will be affected by the monsoon season. We hope to settle by October, if not, we will look at other strategies that will be used to give vaccines during the monsoon season," he explained.

The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation also said that states with interior areas would be offered the CanSino vaccine.

The single-dose vaccine will make it easier for health workers to vaccinate residents in the interior, as there is no need to enter the areas twice, thus saving time.

The first shipment of the CanSino vaccine is expected to arrive in mid-July before being distributed to the states.

Apart from that, Khairy said Pahang would receive 440,000 doses of vaccine next month compared to 180,000 this month, thus increasing the daily vaccination rate.

"Pahang has the capacity of administering 30,000 doses of vaccine a day and it is expected that more PPVs will be opened in each district and more mobile units will be able to reach remote locations, Orang Asli villages and islands," he said.

-- BERNAMA