PRIVATE medical practitioners today urged ministers to “wake up” and face reality as Covid-19 sweeps the country with a rising number of new infections and deaths.

They chided Putrajaya for coming out with grand plans like “super vaccine centres” and mobile vaccination trucks when all the government has to do is enlist the help of the 7,000 private general practitioners (GPs) in the country to expedite the vaccination programme.

Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Associations Malaysia (FPMPAM) president Dr Steven KW Chow said the country does not need a “canggih” (sophisticated) system that does not work, adding that technology is supposed to help and not be a hindrance.

“For starters, the government should remove unnecessary red tape to expedite the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out,” he said.

“The 7,000 GPs and the thousands of Klinik Kesihatan staff can easily vaccinate up to 50 patients daily and, together with the private hospitals, achieve critical mass in a very short time,” Chow said in a statement.

“All the government needs to do is to deliver the vaccine efficiently to all of them.

“This can be done by existing pharmaceutical distributors who have the capability and the capacity to do so.”

He said these were easier than mulling super vaccine centres, mobile vaccine trucks for urbanised areas and prickly apps and platforms.

He also said that there were complaints from elderly sick patients being allocated vaccination centres a distance away from their home.

“They have to spend long, tiring hours travelling, locating the place, navigating through the complex and travelling back.

“This is not fair, not correct and not cost-efficient. It is a sign of a broken system.

“Patients should be allowed to see the doctor nearest their home, get assessed, vaccinated and then have the information immediately updated into their MySejahtera,” he said.

Chow also said having the Health Ministry’s Private Medical Practice Control Section inspect and approve GP clinics for vaccination is not needed.

“They are all already registered under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act and GPs have been administering vaccines long before some of our ministers were born.

“Perhaps the ministers themselves may have taken vaccines from the very same GPs when they were babies,” Chow said.

The country is currently battling its toughest fight in the pandemic, with a record-breaking 8,290 new Covid-19 infections today.

To date, 987,012 individuals were reported to have completed their second dose of the vaccination under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, according to the Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee.

And another 1.7 million individuals have taken their first dose of vaccine. – May 28, 2021.