SCIENCE, Technology and Innovation Ministry officials will talk to the education authority about putting teachers at the head of the queue for a Covid-19 shot.

Khairy Jamaluddin, the coordinating minister for the national vaccination campaign, said this morning that the matter will be discussed in next week’s cabinet meeting.

“We have so many requests from many groups and it is surely reasonable to vaccinate the teachers as school is going to reopen soon,” he said.

“The cabinet will discuss this; maybe priority will be given to teachers on certain conditions.”

Classes will resume in March for primary schoolchildren and in April for secondary school students.

This morning the first batch of Covid-19 vaccine arrived on a special flight at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, in Sepang.

Flight MH604, bearing the Jalur Gemilang livery, landed at 10.07am with the 312,390 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

The shipment was transported on Airbus 330-300, operated by MAB Kargo Sdn Bhd, the cargo arm of national carrier Malaysia Airlines.

Health Minister Dr Adham Baba, Khairy and Transport Minister Dr Wee Ka Siong were at the airport to receive the vaccine.

Khairy has said vaccination will commence on Wednesday, with the first shots going to the prime minister and the director-general of health.

Healthcare workers on the frontlines are next, followed by the police, armed forces and Fire and Rescue Department personnel.

Meanwhile, Khairy told the press conference that the recipients will get the full course of two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine even though it has been suggested that one would suffice to protect against infection.

“We have not done any research to support the claim that one dose is adequate. We will stick with the two-dose policy.” – February 21, 2021.