Viral COVID-19 vaccination consent form not finalised - Dr Noor Hisham

KUALA LUMPUR: The COVID-19 vaccination consent form which has gone viral on social media is not the final version of the form to be used in the national vaccination programme.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the finalised version of the COVID-19 vaccination consent form will be distributed to eligible recipients soon, beginning with recipients listed in the first phase.

“Since COVID-19 vaccination is voluntary, the form is an important document to be filled in by the recipients to declare their consent to be voluntarily vaccinated.

“A consent form is also being used in other countries where people have to opt-in and sign the form to be vaccinated in their respective COVID-19 vaccination programmes,” he said in a statement here today.

Dr Noor Hisham said the contents of the consent form are to ensure that the vaccine recipients fully understand the information they read or explained to them by a health worker on the benefits and risks of the vaccine.

As such, he also advised the public not to spread inaccurate information that could cause public anxiety.

The viral consent form, among others, stated that individuals who agree to receive the jab must understand that they are responsible for any possible risks and that the vaccine does not guarantee that the recipient will not be infected with COVID-19 in future.

Dr Noor Hisham explained that the vaccine that will be brought into the country will be evaluated in terms of quality, efficacy and safety by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency.

He said reports from other countries which had implemented the vaccination programme indicated that the vaccine is safe.

Malaysia is set to roll out its National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme on Feb 26 with a target of having 80 per cent of 26 million of the population to be vaccinated in three phases.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is expected to arrive on Sunday.

-- BERNAMA