Get booster jab before borders reopen, Khairy tells Sabahans

TAWAU: Sabahans were urged to immediately get the Covid-19 booster dose to protect against exposure to infection from people crossing from the Philippines and Indonesia, which have a low rate of vaccinations.

Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said: “The areas bordering Sabah are a long way from their capital cities. Our assumption is that the vaccination rate among people in the southern Philippines and Kalimantan is low.

“If the border is opened, more (foreign) people will enter.

“Vaccination coverage in Sabah is important because of the risk of Covid-19 from the neighbouring countries,” he said after attending a mass cataract surgery initiative here today.

Khairy said so far 40% of adults in Sabah had received their booster jab while about 16% of children aged five to 11 in the state had been vaccinated.

On the national immunisation programme for children (PICKids), he said parents should no longer take the wait and see approach because the programme had been implemented for more than a month, adding that most children who were vaccinated only experienced mild side effects.

“Parents refused to give permission even though the programme was taken to schools. The children don’t turn up on the day of vaccination.

“So, I appeal to parents to allow their children to be vaccinated because I see so many children admitted to hospital due to Covid-19,” he said. — Free Malaysia Today