Low Covid-19 vaccination rate for children in east coast, says Deputy Health Minister

SHAH ALAM - The Covid-19 vaccination rate among children aged five to 11 in the east coast are hardly 50 per cent as of February this year.

Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali said the vaccination rate among children was not overwhelming compared to the adults.

"We did so well in the Covid-19 vaccination process for the adult population but we failed in giving the same effort for children.

"The vaccination for kids aged five to 11 started in February but till today we only have 50 per cent of children being vaccinated.

"This is not good because children needed to be protected too as people are bringing along kids and moving around often such as going for events and holidays," he said during the launch of the "Preventing the Flu at 65 and Beyond" campaign organised by Immunise4Life (ILF), today.

Dr Noor Azmi said it was crucial to educate the public about health since the literacy rate in Malaysia was as low as 30 per cent.

He added that due to lack of literacy in health, parents were influenced by what they heard and read on social media.

"They trust the social media more than the medical doctors and this happens the most in the east coast.

"I went to most of the states, Sarawak did very well, but Kelantan only achieved 60 per cent whereas Terengganu is only 20 per cent, so those are the figures that are pulling our child's vaccination percentage down despite the hardwork of IFL," he said.

Dr Noor Azmi also expressed his gratitude to IFL for its efforts in creating awareness about the Covid-19 vaccination.