GEORGE TOWN: A total of 93,000 students aged 12 to 15 will be getting their vaccinations from Wednesday (Sept 29).

       Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said this group is also eligible for the adolescent-level Covid-19 immunisation programme.

       "Under the state-level National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Adolescents, vaccination for 43,000 teenagers aged 16 to 17 is expected to be completed by the end of this month," he said in a statement on Monday (Sept 27).

       He said the state government and Health Department will also increase capacity at the existing vaccination centres (PPV) to expedite inoculations for students.

       He said the reduction of Covid-19 cases to three digits since Sunday (Sept 26) showed the effectiveness of the immunisation programme and the strategy by the state government, Health Ministry and state Health Dept in the battle against the pandemic.

       He said the state government obtained full cooperation from the ministry regarding the mobilisation of 250 medical personnel from other states, while equipment for hospitals here has also been improved.

       He said other forms of assistance included the setting up of a 100-bed field hospital in the Penang Hospital parking lot.

       On Sept 11, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Penang would start a vaccination programme for teenagers in the fourth week of September.

       He said there are about 130,000 teenagers in the state who have been identified as eligible for the programme.