TEN year-old Ivann Muammar Imaan is the first of Sarawak’s 272, 500 children aged between five and 12 to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

The SK Green Road pupil was among 30 “immunocompromised” – having an impaired immune system – children that were picked to receive the jab at the state launch of the Covid-19 immunisation programme for children (PICKids) at the Sarawak general hospital in Kuching today.

The vaccination for children programme was rolled out simultaneously with that in the Klang Valley.

Deputy Chief Minister Douglas Uggah, who officiated the launch in Kuching, told reporters all 30 children picked were in the highest health risk category and they have been undergoing regular follow-up treatment for their comorbidity.

Uggah, who also chairs the state disaster management committee, said children in the same risk category would similarly be vaccinated at public and private hospitals throughout the state in the next few days.

Children with no health risk would either get vaccinated in their school or at designated public and private vaccination centres beginning this Saturday.

Uggah also allayed the fears of parents who have not registered their child or children on the MySejahtera application.

“They should not be too worried as they could be vaccinated in their school,” he said.

A recent public survey conducted by the state health department showed that 59.7% of the 40,000 respondents were all for their children getting vaccinated while 24.3% were a “little hesitant and unsure”, while only 15% said they were against it.

The reasons given by the naysayers were fears of complications arising, doubts about the vaccine and to be given the freedom to pick a vaccine of their choice.

The vaccine of choice throughout the country at the moment is Pfizer-BioNTech’s Comirnaty.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, at the national launch, said the Pfizer vaccine had been formulated specially for children and approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).

He also said his ministry’s data on Covid-19 infection among children in the last six months found 147,282 unvaccinated children aged between five and 12 had been infected with the virus and 26 of them had died from it.

Children contracting Covid-19, he added, could suffer complications from the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).

He said in the event of a complication, the children needed intensive care and the chances of death is high.

To further aggravate their health problem, Khairy said these infected children are also at risk of developing long Covid.

The Health Ministry is targeting 80% of children aged 7-12 and 60% of six-year-olds to receive their first dose within six months, while 60% of five-year-olds to receive their first dose in the next 12 months.

For the second dose, the ministry targets 80% of the children to be immunised it within eight weeks of receiving the first dose. – February 3, 2022.