SHAH ALAM, June 9 — Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said his state government is still in discussions with Putrajaya regarding the direct purchase of Covid-19 vaccines by private companies for their employees.
It has been nearly a month since the state announced that employers who wish to procure Covid-19 vaccines for their staff can now register their interest through its SELangkah application.
However, the state government has yet to clarify the process by which this vaccine will be administered, nor the source of the vaccines.
“That is in our next plan to ensure the whole of society is involved, especially among the employers or the business owners, to sustain their businesses by vaccinating their workers.
“So this thing will be detailed out with the federal government. So far, the policy for immunisation and vaccine is that it is free for every citizen, but I had to explain to the federal government that this is not funded or covered by the employees or the workers, but covered by the owners or the employers from the companies and industries.
“So I need to detail it out,” Amirudin replied when asked for an update on the matter during a virtual news conference this afternoon.
Some of the issues concerned overlaps involving data, he disclosed without elaborating.
The Selangor MB also said the number of employers who had since registered their interest to purchase the vaccines was “quite high”, but stopped short of giving a figure.
“It’s just to show the interest, their readiness to pay,” he said, adding that he has conveyed this interest to the federal government.
He said that he was not able to do so earlier as he had no confirmation of interest from employers.
“So far we have already signed the agreement, we know the data, we know the numbers that we get, hopefully by the end of June, July, August, then we can get all the supply and we can vaccinate based on our planning,” he added.
Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud, the state executive councillor for public health, announced in a statement on May 18 that employers keen to buy Covid-19 vaccines for their staff could register their interest at vax.selangkah.my.
A check by Malay Mail of the state’s smart visitor registration system confirmed the addition of a new section called “SelangkahVax” with detailed steps for interested employers to follow.
