THE wait-and-see approach is one of the reasons for the low number of registrations for vaccination, said Khairy Jamaluddin.

“The low registration rate is due to the wait-and-see approach,” the coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme said in a press conference today.

He said many people are waiting to see the impacts of the jab on those who have been inoculated, before deciding that they have the confidence to get vaccinated.

Khairy said many rural folk are unaware of the immunisation programme.

However, he is confident that the number of registrations will pick up in time.

As of March 21, a total of 6.15 million people had registered for the programme while 412,342 people had received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Khairy said the government will be stepping up on outreach efforts to encourage more people to sign up.

As such, he said this will include door-to-door manual registrations, especially in areas with poor internet connectivity.

The science, technology and Innovation minister said he will also be holding an engagement session with lawmakers from both sides of the political divide today,  to enlist their cooperation for the vaccination drive.

He added that the starting date for the second phase of the vaccination drive, which is slated to begin in April, will be announced next week.

The second phase will entail the inoculation of high-risk groups such as senior citizens, people with pre-existing health conditions and the differently-abled. – March 22, 2021.