PUTRAJAYA should be clear and transparent with information on the efficacy, safety, quality and permissibility of the coronavirus vaccines when the immunisation programme starts, said the Pakatan Harapan Covid-19 and vaccination task force.

The task force said this would help to improve confidence among Malaysians, especially among those still hesitant about being vaccinated.

“We must always be realistic in detailing the vaccine rollout. We must not oversell the idea to the people that things will always be great and everything will go according to plan,” the task force said in a statement.

Putrajaya must also anticipate and plan for contingencies and unforeseen circumstances as witnessed in a recent experience, it said.

“Despite the movement-control order (MCO) and emergency ordinance (EO), we have failed to arrest the trajectory of the pandemic curve, let alone flatten it.”

The cumulative cases will be fast approaching 300,000, with a death toll past the 1,000 mark, it said.  

The immunisation will be rolled out in three phases. The first phase from February 26 to April will see the inoculation of frontline personnel of the Health Ministry, police and the armed forces.

Senior citizens, people with morbidity conditions and the disabled are next in line for the shots in the second phase from April to August and the third phase from May to February 2022 is open to all aged 18 and above.

PH said the government also needs to remind the rakyat that the vaccine is not the silver bullet that would end the pandemic miraculously.

“It is disconcerting that the government is parading the arrival of the vaccine as though it is the ‘saviour’ of our pandemic. This would inevitably create a false sense of security to the general public.

“They must know that the vaccines are part and parcel of a holistic programme to mitigate, contain and help us to exit the pandemic.”

Malaysians must continue to follow the standard operating procedure, such as masking, physical distancing, better coverage of testing and contact tracing and meticulous attention to the find, test, trace, isolate and support (FTTIS) system.  

While the vaccine programme prioritises front-liners, teachers, especially those in the at-risk groups who will start their teaching responsibilities soon in primary schools, and those living in nursing and elderly care homes should also be in the first group of those to receive the vaccine, it said.

“Be that as it may, these are, however, pertinent issues that need to be immediately addressed in the vaccination rollout by both the government and stakeholders.”

PH said the government should also address the contradicting statements, for instance, from ministers on basic issues, such as the number of vaccines administered daily.

“Besides providing fodder to vaccine hesitancy and ammunition to anti-vaccination groups, it would similarly impact negatively on foreign investors’ confidence in our government’s capabilities.

“Investors are looking for clear signals of recovery and poor governing capabilities do not sit well with them.”

As for the foreign workers, the policy of vaccination should by now be explicitly clear.

“When the vaccine coordinating minister (Khairy Jamaluddin) announced that everyone, including foreign workers and migrants, would be vaccinated, it was a great relief to many as it demonstrated the inclusivity of the government.

“However, the unfortunate announcement, though later clarified and withdrawn, by the director-general of health (Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah) that it would not be necessary to vaccinate foreign workers, took everyone by surprise.”

PH said that there must be clarity of leadership on the vaccine programme.

“The ministers and the technocrats need to get their act together in order to inspire trust and build confidence among the rakyat.” – February 23, 2021.