Only 10% have taken booster shots, says deputy minister
Published on: Thursday, December 02, 2021
By: FMT
.jpg "Only 10% have taken booster shots, says deputy minister")
More people need to take the booster shots in light of the potential risks from the Omicron variant, says Aaron Ago Dagang.
Kuala Lumpur: Only 10.83% of Malaysians have taken a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and most of them are in Sarawak, deputy health minister Aaron Ago Dagang told the Dewan Rakyat today.
He said the government cannot make it compulsory to take the boosters.
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“It depends on the individual.”
Aaron was replying to Steven Choong Shiau Yoon (Ind-Tebrau) who said that the third dose was confusing many people and that about 30-40% of the people had rejected the booster dose.
Choong also asked about the steps the government was taking in overcoming this issue.
Aaron said with concerns surrounding the newly-identified Omicron variant, which can be transmitted rapidly, he said the ministry would work harder in encouraging adults to take the booster shot.
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Answering a question from Dzulkefly Ahmad (PH-Kuala Selangor), Aaron said the ministry was trying to raise the awareness of the public on the vaccines’ effectiveness in the fight against Covid-19.
Earlier, Dzulkefly, who was the health minister under the former Pakatan Harapan administration, had asked for the percentage of the ministry’s senior staff and Cabinet members who had taken the booster shot.
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Yesterday, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, advised the public to get the booster shots to protect themselves, their loved ones and the community especially in light of the potential risk from the new Omicron variant.
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