December 2021
One of the
recent announcements from the MOH (Ministry of Health) is that all seniors aged
60+ who have received two doses of Sinovac earlier will have their fully
vaccinated status withdrawn in February 2022 if they do not get their booster
shots by then. It is not mentioned though if the booster must be Pfizer which
is provided free. Given such urgency as reflected by the stern warning, does
the authority wonder why many seniors are still dithering?
When 40% of
the seniors did not show up for their booster shot appointments in November
last year, for whatever reasons, the authority responded quickly with various
announcements. It was from the horses’ mouths, through their tweets or media
statements, we learnt that Sinovac boosters would be approved soon by the MOH
and made available at PPVs (Pusat Perkhidmatan Vaksinasi) nationwide, in STAGES.
Seniors, especially those who cannot take Pfizer boosters because of medical
issues, can now request for Sinovac at the PPVs they are assigned to. However, up
until end of December last year, when these seniors received their booster shot
appointments – some for the 5th time!!! -- they found that Sinovac
booster is still either unavailable at the PPVs, or they have to PAY for it!
Some irate seniors quipped that announcements by the various authorities in
November last year were like smoke screens, ambiguous and lack clarity, leading
to confusion and false expectations. Perhaps it was a case of the media
reporters misquoted or misinterpreted the tweets and announcements? We hope the
authority will quickly clarify this matter by stating explicitly if it is MOH
or Cabinet decision that seniors must either take the free Pfizer boosters or
PAY for Sinovac boosters.
Given that
worldwide, vaccine booster is a highly politicized issue, with experts and
various studies offering conflicting opinions and conclusions, it is important
that rakyat are not forced to accept the mandate “take the Pfizer booster for
free, or PAY for Sinovac booster if you need it”.
One can
understand the need to speed up the booster program before the huge stockpile
of costly vaccines expires. But the MOH must get its priorities right and be
more systematic in the booster roll-out operations. It is really not a
Herculean task to find out the reasons behind the 40% no-show for booster
appointments, and follow up with appropriate actions. One just needs to look
into the database, identify those who need Sinovac boosters because of medical
issues or fear of heterologous boosters, and let them get their desired
boosters soonest possible. As it is, until quite recently, boosters have been offered
to walk-ins of all ages rather randomly. A friend who accompanied her mother
for her booster appointment at a PPV found the venue so crowded that they had
to stand and wait in the hot sun for hours. It is no surprise that the duo
decided to just return home to wait for another appointment!
Over the
past two month or so, there was sporadic news of free Sinovac boosters being
given in PPVs in the Northern states of Kedah and Penang, Triang in Pahang, and
even in Senawang Convention Center in Seremban. There were reportedly long
lines of walk-ins, including some anxious seniors who started to queue from as
early as seven in the morning to ensure getting the Sinovac boosters. Surely
the authority should feel some compassion for them, especially if they are the
ones who cannot take the Pfizer booster because of some medical issues? Why
subject these seniors to such hardship and unnecessary risk? This aside, why is
there still no clear plan or schedule of where the ‘promised’ Sinovac vaccines
are being sent to nationwide? Why such a haphazard way of distribution? Can
ProtectHealth website do more than just listing the PPVs? Perhaps they can include
contact information and also state clearly what vaccines are available for FREE
at which PPVs and when? This will save a lot of frustrations having to find the
contact information of PPVs and then call them – often to no avail-- to find
out what vaccines are available.
Sometime
last month, Selangor started offering about 15,700 free Sinovac boosters,
supposedly to complement the effort of the Federal Government. However, it
seems to be for walk-ins too with no priorities for seniors. It is not clear
where the state government has acquired or purchased the Sinovac boosters. Whatever,
this program presents a glimmer of hope for many seniors in the Klang Valley
who had been frustrated with their wildgoose chase for the elusive free Sinovac
boosters ‘promised’ since November last year. After turning down two or three appointments,
many just gave up the wait for more appointments from MySJ. They either paid
for the Sinovac boosters or just tried their luck with Selangor Government’s
offer through Selvax/Selangkah. For the latter ‘lottery’, some had to wait till
end of January and even February for the booster appointments.
There is also
this urgent question about the two million doses of Sinovac donated by China
recently. Together with the one million or so doses donated earlier last year,
there are now perhaps a total of 3 million donated doses in the stockpile? Surely
we must try to use them up quickly before the need to extend expiry date once
again? Interestingly, some photos of China-made Sinovac vials have been
circulated on social media, allegedly taken in PPVs and private clinics where
payment is required. Could this be malicious fake news? We hope so because all rational
right thinking people know that it is unethical and morally wrong to make the
rakyat pay for donated vaccine boosters. What more when vaccination is a
national public health service that should be FREE for all rakyat? To quash
such ‘rumors’, it is time the MOH starts making the distribution of these
donated Sinovac boosters more systematic and transparent. The rakyat and tax
payers have the right to know where exactly these three million doses will be
sent to and when, who will get them for free and who will have to pay. If not,
lack of transparency will only fuel more speculations and undermine the MOH’s
effort in speeding up the nation’s vaccination program.