PETALING JAYA: Elderly care homes that are not registered with the Social Welfare Department are urged to pre-register their residents and staff with the Health Ministry as this will enable them to obtain the vaccine in the second phase of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.
According to the ministry’s Family Health Development Division’s elderly health sector senior principal assistant director, Dr Noraliza Noordin Merican, unregistered elderly care homes may miss out on the chance to ensure their clients are protected if they stay below the radar.
Dr Noraliza said these senior citizens needed to be vaccinated as they are in the high-risk group, and generally live in relatively confined areas.
MOST of those who succumbed to Covid-19 in Malaysia are senior citizens.
As of Jan 5, it was reported that over 80% of deaths due to the coronavirus were involving people aged 50 and above. But the bulk is made up of senior citizens in the age group of between 60 and 69.
So as part of the first few groups to receive the coming vaccine, senior citizens are relieved and looking forward to getting the jabs.
National Council of Senior Citizens Organisations Malaysia deputy president Datuk Dr Soon Ting Kueh lauds the idea of vaccinating senior citizens first.
“Senior citizens are the most vulnerable group. If they do get infected with Covid-19, the effects are more serious.
January 26, 2021
People wearing protective masks walk on a street, amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Nov 10, 2020.
Reuters
Covid-19 numbers in Malaysia continue to soar a year to the day since the country’s first case was detected – but after more than 180,000 infections, 678 related deaths and two nationwide lockdowns, public health experts are now concerned that the nation’s contact-tracing efforts are falling dangerously short.
People who have tested positive for the disease have taken to social media to complain that they had not yet been contacted by health officials, while contact-tracing applications such as MySejahtera and SELangkah are overwhelmed, with reports indicating that thousands of close contacts are potentially being missed on a daily basis.