KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 — Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said today his key performance index (KPI) for the Ministry of Health (MOH) after taking over its portfolio includes ensuring 80 per cent of the adult population be fully vaccinated in his first 100 days.
In a press conference, the Rembau MP added that vaccinations for those aged between 12 to 17 will also begin next week.
“We will announce the target for teenagers soon, based on the vaccine supply we have. Vaccination for teenagers will begin in Sarawak, as they have reached 80 per cent full vaccination among adults.
“I hope that within these 100 days, as many teenagers as possible get vaccinated so that when school begins again, these teens will be fully vaccinated,” he said.
He said that the MOH is also targeting intensive care unit (ICU) beds to only be occupied by less than 70 per cent in the same period, in addition to less than 50 per cent bed occupancy for other hospital beds.
“We will ensure that states that need ICU beds, like Sabah and Kedah right now, will have enough beds. We will set up field ICUs in any state that needs ICUs for Covid-19 within this 100 days,” he said.
He said that he would also ensure that all hospitals treating Covid-19 patients will have a 100 per cent oxygen cylinder capacity.
Khairy said the MOH aims to bring down the number of Covid-19 patients who are brought in dead, which currently stands at 21 per cent of all Covid-related deaths, to less than 15 per cent in the same period.
He said that MoH is also already in the process of increasing the number of Virtual Covid-19 Assessment Centres (CAC) in five states, which are Kelantan, Melaka, Penang, Johor and Perak.
Khairy also announced that the ministry will reveal its plan for Covid-19 vaccine booster doses, that is estimated to be implemented by early 2022, in addition to the data gained from the clinical trials involving the contentious anti-parasite drug ivermectin.
“We will address this issue once and for all,” he said, referring to the controversy involving those lobbying for its use.
He said that the ministry will also unveil a beta version of an artificial intelligence (AI) application that can detect Covid-19 through cough cases.
It also aims to increase the number of Covid-19 test kit brands available in the market from 14 to 28, and opening up its sale to other retail outlets besides pharmacies or health facilities.
He said that those in B40 households and the hardcore poor would either receive free or subsidised test kits, adding that details for this initiative will be announced in time.
Khairy also vowed to increase the number of tele-consultation sessions currently being run by 40 clinics under MoH by 30 per cent.
He said for elective surgeries, the ministry aims to reduce the backlog by 20 per cent by outsourcing these surgeries to private hospitals, while for dental services, he said that he aims for 70 per cent of dental clinics to go back to their usual services.
