KUALA LUMPUR, June 4 — A drive-through vaccination centre (PPV) for persons with disabilities (PwDs) will be set up to speed up the immunisation exercise involving the group, said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun.
She said that the drive-through PPV is expected to operate next week at a location in the Klang Valley, in collaboration with the private sector, via Senator Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi.
“This (drive-through) is an alternative to facilitate and expedite the vaccination exercise of the disabled community,” she told reporters after reviewing the implementation of the PwD vaccination programme at the Malaysian Association for the Blind (MAB) Complex here.
Rina said based on data from the Social Welfare Department (JKM), about 577,000 PWDs registered under JKM and thus far, a total of 195,395 PWDs had registered in the MySejahtera application for vaccination.
She said there were still many who had yet to register for the vaccine and the ministry had also worked with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other related associations to speed up the registration process for the disabled community.
At the same time, Rina said the ministry through JKM had submitted the names and basic details of 446,000 PwDs registered in the Disability Information Management System (SMOKU) to the relevant parties to ensure that individuals in the target group would not be sidelined from getting the vaccine.
To facilitate registration, MAB had also set up a special call centre at 03-2272 2677 and to date had received 1,900 applications, she said.
She added that the PPV at MAB is expected to be able to administer 200 doses of vaccines daily with the involvement of 20 JKM volunteers to assist paramedics and doctors on duty.
Based on the check at the first PwD PPV in the country at MAB, Rina expressed her satisfaction with the implementation of the immunisation programme at the centre and the average PwD community responded well and eager to receive the vaccine to protect themselves against COVID-19.
According to the national immunisation programme, the second phase of vaccination targets 9.4 million senior citizens, vulnerable groups and the PwDs, from April to August.
Sources: BERNAMA