Disclaimer: This statement was made before the Education Ministry addressed the public to postpone the reopening of schools in stages to 3 October.
Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun has urged the government to get children fully vaccinated before the reopening of schools initially scheduled on 1 September, especially those aged between 12 and 17.
She said that this was important as children and teenagers are not exempt from the risk of getting infected by Covid-19, reported BERNAMA.
“Students are not immune from the disease. I hope once the adults are fully vaccinated, children especially between the ages of 12 and 17 will be vaccinated,” she said.
“We must remember that children in this age group are school-going individuals. I truly hope they will be given the vaccine with the cooperation of the Education Ministry before or when schools reopen.”
Minister of Education Radzi Jidin has since announced that the reopening of schools will be postponed to 3 October instead, while Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham said that vaccinations for children and teenagers (12 to 17 years old) will begin on 15 September.
Meanwhile, Rina Harun also expressed concern over women who are pregnant between 14 and 33 weeks and calls for priority to be given to them at all vaccination centres (PPV).
“I understand that almost 60% of the 150,000 pregnant women have registered for the vaccination,” she said.
Recently, over 80,000 Malaysians signed a petition urging the Education Ministry to postpone the reopening of schools until Malaysia has achieved herd immunity.
Let’s hope the ministers in the government are able to make the right choices for the rakyat.
Also read: KJ: Teens Aged 12-17 With Underlying Medical Issues Will Start Receiving Vaccines Soon
