KUALA LUMPUR: The first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids) will not be offered after May 15, says Deputy Health Minister I Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali.

       He said the deadline was set by the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force for Children (CITF-C) due to the low take-up of the vaccine, which could lead to high vaccine wastage.

       “In order to avoid wastage of children’s Covid-19 Comirnaty vaccine that is not used within six months after being released by the manufacturer (Pfizer/BioNTech), a deadline must be set.

       “Therefore, from May 16 this year, the ministry will no longer offer the first dose of the Comirnaty and CoronaVac (by Sinovac Biotech) Covid-19 vaccines to children aged five to 12,” he said in a statement yesterday, Bernama reported.

       Dr Noor Azmi added that after the deadline, the Cominarty Covid-19 vaccine for children will no longer be offered at any public and private health facilities in Malaysia while the CoronaVac vaccine can only be obtained for a fee at private facilities.

       However, he said the deadline will not involve vaccination for children born in 2017 who have not reached the age of five on May 15, adding that vaccination details for this group will be announced soon.

       Dr Noor Azmi said healthcare workers will get in touch with parents who have registered their children to get their jabs via MySejahtera, via phone calls, social media or home visits.

       “Parents who have agreed (to have their children vaccinated) will be given an appointment before the deadline. Parents who have yet to register their children to get vaccinated via MySejahtera can do so by May 8,” he added.