SOME 70,000 teachers nationwide have received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, said Education Minister Mohd Radzi Md Jidin.

Radzi said his ministry is planning to increase the numbers of teachers to be vaccinated.

“As of now, 70,000 teachers have received their first dose and we are redoubling our efforts to get more teachers to be vaccinated,” he told a press conference this morning.

In April, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said that his ministry is waiting for a list of private and government teachers who will be included as vaccine recipients in the second phase of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.

However, he said the vaccine for educators depends on the supply that is available in the country.

It is estimated that there are at least 500,000 teachers in the private and public sectors across the country.

Yesterday, 90,277 doses of vaccines were administered, taking the total number of doses dispensed so far to 3.4 million.

Out of that, 2.29 million are those who have received their first dose, while 1.12 million have completed taking both doses. – June 6, 2021.