KUALA LUMPUR: A total 615,671 children, aged 5 to 11, or 17.3 per cent of the group in the country have received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Data on CovidNow showed that 49,310 children were administered with the first dose, nationwide yesterday.
Sarawak is now leading with 31.1 per cent of children there vaccinated, followed by Melaka (30.4 per cent), and Penang (23.8 per cent).
Perak came next at 23.7 per cent, Klang Valley (21 per cent), Negri Sembilan (17.6 per cent), Labuan (17.2 per cent), Johor (16.3 per cent), Pahang (14.9 per cent), Perlis (12.9 per cent), Kedah (12.3 per cent).
There are three states with a vaccination rate below 10 per cent, namely Sabah at 8.3 per cent, Terengganu (6.9 per cent) and Kelantan (5.5 per cent).
Meanwhile, Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia president Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh said there is an increasing trend of paediatric Covid-19 patients in private hospitals over the past two weeks.
"All private hospitals have not reported a huge number of complicated Covid-19 paediatric patients with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) associated with Covid-19.
"But there have been a few cases which progressed into this complication and it could be alarming if there is an increase," he said in a statement today.
Dr Kuljit said paediatricians in the private hospitals have been updated on the management of the complications and the association will be conducting webinars presented by public hospital paediatricians this week.
He also urged parents to register their children for vaccination and turn up for the appointment once they get the date.
"Vaccination programmes for children between 5 years and 11 years have commenced in some private hospitals and we strongly urge parents to get their children vaccinated quickly once a date is fixed.
"It's very important to protect children from getting into the complications of Covid-19 as the condition of MIS-C can be a challenge to manage and treat."