MEMBERS of the public can no longer walk into AstraZeneca vaccine dispensing centres (PPV) for inoculation using unused dosages of the drug, said Khairy Jamaluddin.

The coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme said the jabs would only be given to those who have placed their names on the waiting list.

“Every day, the names of the people in the waiting list will be given to the AstraZeneca PPVs.

“Those who are on this list will be given a notification on the MySejahtera app telling that they have been included in the waiting list for appointments on a particular date.

“If there is a vacancy, then the officer from the PPV will call those on the waiting list. If not called, do not go to the PPV.

“We don’t allow walk-ins,” Khairy said at his weekly press conference on inoculation efforts.

The Science, Technology and Innovation Minister said that currently there were about 60,000 who have placed their names on the waiting list since all 268,800 slots were snapped up within hours after the online booking system went live on May 2.

Khairy said those who received the MySejahtera notification and are called to be present at the PPVs would only need to show the notification to police personnel at roadblocks to be allowed to continue their journey.

Khairy said that getting replacement recipients for unused jabs was important to prevent vaccine wastage.

He also said that those on the waiting list who could not make it for the vaccination despite being called should not worry about missing out because their names are already registered on the mainstream immunisation programme.

On Saturday, Health Minister Dr Adham Baba said doses of unused AstraZeneca vaccines at the end of the day are administered to those on the waiting list and walk-ins.

He said there had been cases where would-be recipients were found to be unsuitable for the vaccine after medical assessment and people not showing up for their appointments.

As of today, 19,718 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines have been administered since the start of the voluntary opt-in programme five days ago.

Khairy added the attendance rate for AstraZeneca appointments was currently at 98%. – May 10, 2021.