KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 — University Malaya Specialist Centre (UMSC), as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, is providing 200 free influenza vaccination to Foodpanda riders and the Make It Right Movement community team.
UMSC medical director and interim chief executive officer Prof Dr Vicknes Waran said the vaccination awareness campaign aims to educate the general population on the importance of the vaccine.
“The centre is pleased to offer the vaccination to the deserving community of both organisations, and sincerely thank all our supporting partners for making this significant initiative possible,” he told reporters at the launch of the CSR Vaccination for Frontliners here, today.
He said the vaccine has been given to many people over the years, usually to high-risk individuals.
This year, as an initiative to do something useful for the Foodpanda riders and the community team from the Make It Right Movement, UMSC has decided to open it for them, he added.
The Make It Right Movement is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that has been working and raising funds for various communities from refugees to the disabled.
Dr Vicknes said the primary reason why the Foodpanda riders were chosen for the free vaccination was because of the centre’s initiative to reduce the spread of the influenza flu.
“Foodpanda riders come in contact with different people every day when delivering food, which can be risky for customers, as well as themselves, and their own families back home”, he said.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends the use of influenza vaccines to prevent influenza-associated morbidity and mortality.
According to a data published in 2017, deaths by influenza and pneumonia in Malaysia reached a total of 16,215 people.
Meanwhile, Foodpanda rider Mohd Danial Fatullah Mat Nazri, 21, said the initiative is greatly appreciated especially during this time when money plays a vital role for these types of health treatments.
Make It Right Movement chief executive officer Brian Lariche said that during the Covid-19 crisis, the organisation partnered with Pertiwi Soup Kitchen and set up a website called giveback.my which had raised almost RM60,000 to feed the homeless in the federal capital. — Bernama
* Editor's note: An earlier version of this article erroneously referred to the University Malaya Specialist Centre as USMC, which has since been corrected.
