KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Mitec) mega vaccination centre will raise its vaccination capacity to 6,000 doses a day in the coming week, says its acting chief executive officer Mala Dorasamy (pic).

       “Mitec is currently handling about 5,000 vaccinations a day.

       “This will gradually be increased to 6,000 by next week,” she said yesterday.

       Besides catering to those aged above 60 and those with comorbidities as well as frontliners, Mitec will also begin vaccinating some 1,000 expectant mothers this weekend, she added.

       The vaccination facility started on May 31, operating between 9am and 8pm from Monday to Friday for the first week.

       “We have since increased operations to seven days a week to raise the number of vaccinations,” said Mala.

       She added that Mitec, which has three main halls, is spacious and well designed to handle the increase in daily vaccination capacity.

       She also said that Mitec’s 25 personnel are well trained and have the experience of managing large events and gatherings.

       “With people coming at different time slots, we don’t have problems with the capacity at all,” she said.Apart from Mitec’s personnel, Mala said that some 300 volunteers and security personnel are on hand to guide and help those arriving for their vaccination appointments.For visitors who are physically challenged in terms of mobility, she said amenities such as buggy pick-ups at the car park, wheelchairs and special lanes are provided.

       “We at Mitec are humbled by this opportunity to be a part of this initiative against Covid-19. My staff are also happy and proud to be a part of this,” she added.

       Meanwhile, Mitec vaccination centre manager Dr Azira Baharuddin said about 40 doctors and 30 nurses are on hand to administer the vaccine.

       While the vaccination process has gone on smoothly, she said there were still individuals who requested the use of a specific vaccine.

       “What we do when that happens is to explain to them that choice isn’t an option at the moment as announced by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin recently.

       “We explain to them the efficacy of the vaccines being administered and that all of them have shown good evidence in preventing severe Covid-19 infections and deaths, which is the ultimate aim of vaccination,” she said.

       Dr Azira said those who insisted on a different vaccine were advised to contact MySejahtera at permohonan@vaksincovid.gov.my or vaksincovidklp@gmail.com for further assistance.