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Media personnel getting Covid-19 vaccine today

KUALA LUMPUR: Following the widespread online campaign #CucukMYPress a few days ago, the first batch of media practitioners finally get vaccinated today.

TV3 broadcast journalist, Wan Zairul Azri Wan Mohammad Sudin said he has been looking forward to the day the media personnel finally get vaccinated.

"As a media practitioner who has been on duty through the Covid-19 pandemic, from the first Movement Control Order (MCO) until now, is that we are still on duty as usual and so we are really looking forward to being vaccinated," he said.

Wan Zairul Azri, who is also the Putrajaya Media Club president, said while the government wanted to achieve herd immunity in the country, it was important for the media fraternity to be protected against the virus as they meet colleagues and members of the public almost daily.

He said a total of 23 media personnel from 10 media agencies in Putrajaya received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine today at Dewan Seri Seroja, Putrajaya.

"A total of four sessions were held to administer the vaccine, at 9am, 10am, 12noon and 12.30pm. I got the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at 12noon," he said.

Sinar Harian journalist, Tuan Buqhairah Tuan Muhamad Adnan said she received the first dose of Sinovac vaccine.

"Every day we go out and meet people. We are always exposed to the risk of infection, but for the sake of doing our job, we have to always ensure physical distancing, with frequent hand washing, using two pieces of face mask and always using disinfectant liquids," she said.

Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) editor-in-chief, Abdul Rahman Ahmad thanked the government for listening to the grievances of media personnel who are also frontliners, and asked for the vaccination to be expedited.

"There have been photographers and journalists who have been infected with the virus while on duty. The vaccines should be administered immediately, including media personnel in the states who should be given priority as well," said Abdul Rahman, who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at 9am.

Meanwhile, in Perak, State Health director, Datuk Dr Ding Lay Ming, said the vaccination of media personnel in the state would be implemented in the near future, depending on the policy set by the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF).

Yesterday, the Perak Media Practitioners Association (PPMP) urged the government to expedite the vaccination of media personnel so that they could carry out their duties more confidently and safely.

It was reported that the media personnel in Perak and several other states have yet to receive any notification of vaccination appointments through the MySejahtera application.

On May 3, 22 media personnel from various agencies in the state had to be quarantined after they were identified as close contacts of patients who tested positive for Covid-19. – Bernama

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