Health Ministry greenlights Covid-19 vaccines for 12 to 15-year-olds with comorbidities, all 16 to 17-year-olds by mid Sept

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 — The long wait for adolescents aged 12 to 17 to get their Covid-19 vaccines ended today.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has signed a letter recommending dispensation of the vaccines for the adolescent age groups from September 15.

Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Khairy Jamaluddin confirmed the circular by Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham in a tweet this morning,

He said the inoculation will be carried out at specially set up vaccination centres (PPV) in hospitals, clinics and selected schools.

“An announcement will be made next week by @JKJAV on how Covid-19 vaccinations for adolescents will be implemented as per @DGHisham’s circular and the latest updated clinical guidelines,” Khairy, who is also the coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Vaccination Programme posted on Twitter.

However, there was a discrepancy between Dr Noor Hisham’s circular and Khairy’s tweet where the latter mentioned that priority will be given to adolescents aged 12 to 17 with comorbidities, and the ones without will come second.

Meanwhile, in Dr Noor Hisham’s circular, it was stated that individuals aged 12 to 15 with comorbidities and all adolescents aged 16 to 17 will receive the inoculation, without any priority stated.

Malay Mail has contacted both ministries for comment but has yet to receive a response at the time of writing.

The circular was uploaded by DAP lawmaker Dr Kelvin Yii on his Twitter and he confirmed that it was issued by Dr Noor Hisham.

In the purported circular, Dr Noor Hisham also highlighted three categories of individuals — those with allergies, a low immune system, and on anticoagulants — who should undergo a pre-vaccination evaluation.

He added that individuals who fall into these three categories will get inoculated at either a hospital or medical centre, while the rest will have to wait for the guidelines that will be prepared by the government.

Last month, Khairy said that the country is stopping its plans to inoculate those aged between 12 and 17 against Covid-19 due to reports of cardiac-related side effects among teenage recipients of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines in the US.