PETALING JAYA, June 16 — Only 4.24 per cent of the 240,991 people with disabilities (PwD) in Malaysia who have registered for Covid-19 vaccination have taken their first jab so far, Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun disclosed today.
The women, family and community development minister expressed concern at the low vaccination rate. She pointed out that there are about 600,000 registered PwD in total nationwide.
“To date, the PWDs who have registered to get their vaccine via the MySejahtera app are 240,991 people and the OKUs who have already received their vaccine, at least the first dose are 10,229 people, which is 4.24 per cent.
“So this is still very low, and their registrations also are still low. If we were to see, there are about 600,000 registered OKUs in our country, and those who registered are just 240,991 people,” she said in a joint press conference with Senator Ras Adiba Radzi, president of OKU Sentral, a non-governmental organisation advocating for the rights of PwD.
OKU is the Malay acronym for Orang Kurang Upaya and the equivalent of PwD.
The minister and the senator were both given a tour of the nation’s first drive-through Covid-19 vaccination centre (PPV) for PwD at Plantation Tower, Sime Darby Plantation, Ara Damansara which is estimated to be able to inoculate about 200 people daily.
Rina said her ministry is working to further mobilise mobile PPVs at PwD institutions nationwide.
“So this is being integrated so that the vaccination programme can be expedited,” she added.
She also thanked the government for approving vaccination for 12-year-olds, adding that there are also disabled children who needed the protection.
She added that the ministry would also mobilise the Squad Prihatin Negara, to help at vaccination centres nationwide.
