KLANG: It must be mandatory for lecturers in public universities to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

       This is to minimise the risk of getting infected or spreading the coronavirus to students and colleagues, said Prof Dr Zamberi Sekawi, the dean of Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Department of Medicine and Health Science.

       “Of course, we cannot impose mandatory vaccination on everyone, but it can be made mandatory for teachers and lecturers in public schools and universities,” said Dr Zamberi, who is also an infectious disease expert.

       He said that as these teachers and lecturers come into close contact with students daily, they need to be inoculated against Covid-19.

       He said teachers and lecturers who could not be vaccinated due to health problems should be redesignated to jobs that would minimise their contact with others.

       Universiti Teknologi Mara (Puncak Alam) Department of Pharmacology Assoc Prof Datuk Dr S. Vellayan also agreed that all lecturers and teachers must be vaccinated.

       “Anyone who deals with students or the public at schools and institutions of higher learning must be vaccinated,” said Dr Vellayan.

       He said there was a possibility some did not want to be vaccinated due to recent claims that some were injected with empty syringes.

       “The medical and health-related NGOs can run campaigns for those rejecting the vaccine to reinstate confidence in the vaccination programme,” said Dr Vellayan.

       He narrated how these NGOs had carried out extensive campaigning in the 80s to encourage people to be vaccinated against hepatitis.

       Dr Vellayan reiterated there was no excuse for educators in the public sector to decline the vaccine.