VACCINATION for teenagers could be carried out while schools are in session, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

“The programme will go on in parallel with the gradual re-opening of schools, which will also be in phases,”

“I think maybe we may not be able to complete it all but we will continue to vaccinate while the Ministry of Education announces the time table for school reopening,” he said.

Khairy said the Health Ministry has given its views on safe reopening of schools and he was happy with the proposal tabled by the Education Ministry at a joint meeting earlier today.

“There are a few models of vaccination but the easiest one will be when we go to schools to give the vaccine. Most of the students will be vaccinated at their schools,” he said.

Deputy Health Minister Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali will be in charge of this programme, Khairy said.

Yesterday, Khairy announced that Covid-19 vaccination for teenagers will begin in Sarawak that same day with the Klang Valley and Labuan following suit soon.

Khairy said these teenagers will be administered the Pfizer vaccine.

Meanwhile, he said the dossier submitted by Sinovac on the use of its vaccine on teenagers was rejected by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency because it was incomplete.

Khairy said he has asked Pharmaniaga, which is the local product registration holder for Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccine, to submit a new application because the Lancet medical journal has also published clinical trial findings on the efficacy of the vaccine in teenagers.

“We may need this as well in case a teenager has allergies or anaphylaxis, which is linked to Pfizer’s MRNA vaccine. Then we will have an option for another vaccine,” he said. – September 9, 2021.