Walk-in vaccinations in Klang Valley to end after Sept 15 - Adham Baba

PUTRAJAYA: The COVID-19 walk-in vaccination programme in the Klang Valley will end after Sept 15, said Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.

He said the decision was made after taking into account the small percentage of eligible vaccine recipients who have yet to get the COVID-19 jabs as well as the low presence reported at vaccination centres.

He said starting Sept 16, Klang Valley residents who have yet to get vaccinated can get their COVID-19 vaccines at selected health clinics which would be announced later.

"The walk-in vaccination programme will still continue in the states. The public is advised to follow the latest updates from their state Health Departments regarding the walk-in programme," he said during a press conference at the handover ceremony between him and Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, here today.

Meanwhile, Dr Adham said as of yesterday (Sept 7) 69.9 per cent of the total adult population in the country have completed their COVID-19 vaccination.

The National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme aims to inoculate 80 per cent of the country's adult population by the end of the year.

"Alhamdulillah, now we are on the right track and vaccination has reached a commendable rate," he said, adding that on Sept 2, Malaysia's COVID-19 coverage had surpassed that of the United States for at least one dose.

He said as many more Malaysians had received their COVID-19 jabs, the vaccination rate had also declined, which is a good sign.

"We need to expect a decrease in the country's vaccination rate in the coming weeks," he added.

Meanwhile, Dr Adham said as of yesterday, a total of 547,595 students of higher learning institutes in the country have been fully vaccinated.

He said over 195,000 students of public higher learning institutes (IPTA) and 51,000 students of private higher learning institutes (IPTS) have not registered for COVID-19 vaccination.

"IPTA and IPTS students can go to the (walk-in) vaccination centres to get the jabs provided that they bring their matriculation card (student card)," he said.

-- BERNAMA