KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) today said there has been zero engagement between National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NIP) Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and general practitioner (GP) clinics to recruit them for the country’s vaccination efforts.
Responding to Khairy’s remarks that only 2,467 GPs have registered for the cause to date, MMA president Datuk Dr Subramaniam Muniandy said the former has not shown interest in engaging with the group despite the association having written to the minister two months earlier.
Dr Subramaniam said the MMA had formally written to Khairy on March 2 seeking a possible meeting to discuss the plans for private GPs involvement, but no official communications has been received since from both the ministry and the Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee (JKJAV).
“The minister should have come down from his high horse to meet with us months ago when we wrote to him. Perhaps that would have encouraged more GPs to get on board.
“What a difference it would have made if he showed some interest.
“How can there be any hope of success in managing the pandemic when the government is keeping to themselves and even turning away help?
“In this case, the private GPs have not been consulted even when the vaccination programme involves them!” he said in a statement here.
Dr Subramaniam also questioned why Khairy was unable to hold a virtual meeting with the 8,000 GPs in the country despite appearing on Zoom for his weekly press conference, further pointing out that engagement should have been done as public criticism intensified over the NIP’s slow progress.
He further criticised the government for “dragging its feet” and failing to listen to stakeholders, which ultimately contributed to the failure in controlling the overall Covid-19 situation.
“Only now when cases of Covid-19 and deaths have skyrocketed, there is talk of GPs. Where was MoH and JKJAV months ago?
“Or are we keeping to tradition in waiting for things to get worse before something is done?” he lamented.
He also revealed that most of the 2,500 private GPs who expressed interests in the vaccination drive already received training by April and were prepared for the vaccination drive in early May but now found themselves in a limbo as they await the go-ahead from the government.
“Was the NIP coordinating minister aware of this? If he was, why the delay?” Dr Subramaniam further questioned.
Dr Subramaniam then said Khairy should be aware of the excessive “red tape” in the way of the vaccination drive and should take the necessary steps to mitigate the issue so the NIP would achieve its intended objective.
“If he is indeed aware, then as the minister in charge of the NIP, he should be bugging the GPs night and day if the programme was not moving along, knowing they are the best, easiest option and most readily available resource to carry out vaccinations as proven in programmes run in other countries,” he said.
