PETALING JAYA: Over a million Covid-19 booster shots have been administered in Malaysia, the Health Ministry reported.

       Based on the ministry’s CovidNow website, a total of 1,042,234 booster shots have been delivered nationwide as of 11.59pm on Monday (Nov 15).

       The daily total of boosters administered nationwide on Monday was 70,274.

       Despite the milestone achievement, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said more needs to be done as Malaysia is facing a rise in Covid-19 case numbers.

       “More than a million booster shots delivered. But we need to do much more to protect the most vulnerable as we deal with rising case numbers.

       “When you get an appointment for your booster, go for it,” Khairy tweeted on Tuesday (Nov 16).

       Malaysia started administering booster shots in October, starting with frontliners, the elderly and other high-risk individuals.

       Meanwhile, 80% of the country’s adolescent population (aged 12 to 17) have been fully vaccinated in just 70 days, said Khairy.

       “One of the fastest COVID adolescent vaccination programmes with the widest coverage in the world. Syabas, #PICKRemaja,” Khairy tweeted.

       About 95.3% adults (18 and above) in Malaysia have been fully vaccinated. Overall, 76.1% of the country’s total population are fully vaccinated.

       On Monday, Malaysia reported 5,130 new cases of Covid-19 and 53 deaths.

       Of the 53 newly reported deaths, 11 were cases classified as “brought in dead”.

       There were 4,551 recoveries, bringing the number of active cases to 65,956 (an increase of 539).

       Of the 65,956 active cases, 51,619 or 78.3% are those with mild or asymptomatic infections and are undergoing home quarantine.

       Another 12.2% (8,035 cases) are being treated at quarantine centres, while 8.8% (5,776) are hospitalised.

       There are 526 patients at intensive care units nationwide, including 250 who are on ventilator support.