KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 — Teachers and educators should be given priority in the soon-to-be-implemented National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, according to the National Parent-Teacher Association (PIBGN) and Malaysian Pharmacists Society (PFM).

PIBGN president Datuk Mohamad Ali Hasan and PFM president Amrahi Buang said in a joint statement today that the priority was appropriate so that schools could be reopened and to ensure a safe environment for children as well as provide stability to the education ecosystem.

"This move will reduce anxiety and concern among parents about sending their children to their respective schools.

"The vaccination will lift the teachers’ confidence and spirits to return to teaching in their schools without having to worry whether they are the cause of the students being infected,” the statement said.

They both said that since the Covid-19 vaccination currently did not involve individuals aged 18 and below, students needed to be protected through the immunisation of their teachers. 

Previously, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that the government would begin to roll out the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme at the end of this month, with 80 per cent of the country’s population, or approximately 26.5 people, set to receive the vaccine free of charge. — Bernama