KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has urged the Health Ministry to hold advance discussions with private general practitioners (GPs) on enlisting them as vaccinators in the second and third phases of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.
MMA president Professor Datuk Dr Subramaniam Muniandy said it was important for the ministry to embark on early engagements with private GPs on vaccinating the public in what he described as a "mammoth task" to inoculate over 20 million people in the fight against the virus.
"These plans to involve the GPs will require proper planning of logistics with the finer details ironed out by March or mid-April before the second phase of the programme.
"The GPs and their staff will also need to be vaccinated ahead of the second phase," he told the New Straits Times.
Dr Subramaniam said MMA welcomed the government's decision to include the GPs in the programme and would await further details.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba recently said the government was identifying health practitioners as vaccinators to administer doses during the programme's second phase designated for senior citizens aged 60 and above as well as high-risk groups between April and August this year.
Dr Adham had said the vaccinators are selected among certified health practitioners namely doctors, nurses, medical assistants and dentists.
Dr Subramaniam said the ministry plans to involve 3,000 GP clinics from its Peka B40 list for the programme's second and third phases.
However, Dr Subramaniam said out of the 2,792 clinics registered, only 1,900 are GP clinics.
"We believe that in order for the programme to be executed with greater efficiency, more private GPs should be roped in.
"We are confident that almost all 8,000 of the ministry's trained GPs nationwide would be willing to participate and this will speed up the inoculating of the entire population," he added.