KUALA LUMPUR: The formulation of the National Immunisation Plan (NIP) still lacks active public participation although it is slated to begin next week, a social activist noted.
Alliance for Safe Community chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said both traditional and social media should have been given opportunities to articulate the concerns of the public so plans could be tweaked, if necessary, for maximum benefit.
"It is important for everybody to make themselves familiar with the government's detailed plan for the Covid-19 vaccine rollout beginning Feb 26.
"Newspapers and websites have been carrying available information to the public but other means of disseminating relevant information should be considered, especially for those who have little or no access to these media.
"This kind of dialogue with the media should be a daily affair for maximum public participation, high level of acceptance, and confidence building," he said in a statement today.
Lee said, the vaccination programme should also stress on zero wastage, minimum resistance and maximum participation of the public although the government has not enforced mandatory inoculation.
"It is a known and accepted fact that immunisation will be vital for economic recovery, to reduce Covid-19 infections, improve the immune system and to improve the lives and livelihoods of the people.
"Still, while the rollout plan is being implemented, it is also important for the rakyat not to be complacent and let their guard down.
"They will still have to follow the safety protocols, before and even after inoculation," he said.
Lee also called on the authorities to be flexible in determining the priority groups for the vaccination process.
"The government has identified medical and non-medical frontliners, elderly people, and state assemblymen as well as parliament members, to be among the first to receive the vaccines.
"While politicians are being given priority, other segments of the rakyat, such as retail workers as suggested by the Federation of Malaysian Consumers' Association (FOMCA) who are at higher risk should also be given serious attention.
"There also could be some groups that may have fallen through the cracks," he said.
Lee also welcomed the Health Ministry's announcement to introduce a special vaccine injury scheme and called for the plan to be expedited.
He also urged the government to consider some technical elements before inoculation begins, including the need for an integrated database that unites all the five proposed methods of registration as well as appointing authorities to manage it.
"We also need a long-term plan for the programme to ascertain if we need repeated doses of the vaccine annually in the event of an epidemic," he said.