This comes after public outrage over system issues during their vaccine registration yesterday!
In his press conference today (27 May), Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Khairy Jamaluddin firstly apologised for the weakness of the system to handle a large influx of applicants at the same time. There were also many users who didn’t manage to even get their booking yesterday (26 May). The minister reassured the public that investigations are currently being conducted to find out the root of the problem and further action will be taken accordingly.
In regards to the “opt-in” system, Khairy said that it was introduced after public fear that the AstraZeneca vaccine caused blood clots. However, after seeing an overwhelming response towards the registrations, it is understood that the AZ vaccine is accepted by the public.
"Kita telah membuat keputusan bahawa bekalan vaksin AstraZeneca yang akan diterima pada bulan-bulan yang akan datang tidak lagi akan dilaksanakan secara opt-in sebaliknya akan kembali dimasukkan ke dalam senarai vaksin arus perdana PICK." – @Khairykj
— Vaksin COVID-19 ?? (@JKJAVMY) May 27, 2021
“Thus in the coming months, the AstraZeneca vaccine will no longer be in an opt-in basis but instead will be reincluded into the PICK system.”
He added that there might be an option in the future for users to choose what vaccines they want in the MySejahtera application. The minister reassured that those who didn’t manage to register for the AZ vaccine to not worry as the government has quickened the delivery of other vaccines to Malaysia.
A reporter asked Khairy that some people have received their appointments for AstraZeneca despite not registering at all. The minister said that while this technically shouldn’t have happened in the first place but a hypothesis the ministry has is that some people have been registered without their consent. He also added that this issue is still being investigated.
Let us know what you think regarding this decision!
Also read: Some M’sians Are Reportedly Getting AZ Vaccine Appointments Despite ‘Failing’ To Book A Slot
