PETALING JAYA: To ensure that vaccination is expedited for public transport drivers, agencies under the Transport Ministry have been instructed to compile names of e-hailing and p-hailing drivers and riders to be vaccinated, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.

       The Transport Minister stressed the importance of expediting vaccination among such drivers as the transport sector is an essential 24-hour service during the ongoing movement control order.

       “Therefore, I had instructed the agencies under the ministry to collect the names of the drivers and riders to be vaccinated.

       “The Transport Ministry is working closely with the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) to expedite the immunisation process,” he said in a statement on Tuesday (July 20) after a meeting with e-hailing operator Grab Malaysia.

       Dr Wee’s meeting with Grab was to discuss ways to expedite vaccinations for e-hailing drivers and p-hailing riders nationwide.

       Dr Wee said that if everything goes according to plan, all public transport drivers will be vaccinated by the end of August.

       Noting that there are some 100,000 e-hailing drivers and 50,000 p-hailing riders serving with Grab, Dr Wee said frontliners operating during the MCO must be given priority in getting vaccinated to ensure theirs and the safety of their passengers and customers.

       Last week, Dr Wee said the rescheduling of vaccination appointments for such drivers has begun and eligible recipients will be notified by the CITF on their vaccination schedules.