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PICKids Is Not Compulsory

Feb 03, 2022

Parents will not  be forced to sign their children up for the newly-launched COVID-19 immunisation programme for those aged 5 to 11. 

The Health Minister says it will be done on a voluntary basis and unvaccinated children will NOT face any restrictions. 

He says for now, many parents are adopting a wait-and-see attitude as only 15 percent of elegible children are current signed up for the programme. 

However, they are encouraged to sign up, due to the health risks that the coronavirus poses to children.

Khairy says this includes multisystem inflammatory syndrome in chldren, while they are also at risk of developing Long COVID. 

The PICKids programme kicked off in the Klang Valley today, with eligible recipients given two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. 

The interval between doses is 8 weeks. 
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SOPs for Umrah, Johor Election being finalised

On another note, the Health Minister says the ministry is still finalising the new SOPs for Umrah pilgrimages, and an announcement will be made as soon as possible. 

Such pilgrimages were suspended last month, due to the Omicron variant. 

As for the SOPs for the Johor state election, Khairy says they will be different compared to previous polls. 

It's to help cushion the impact of Omicron.
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Slight dip in daily COVID cases

Malaysia's daily COVID-19 cases was little changed today, compared to Wednesday. 

The Health DG says 5,720 new infections were reported, which is down by 16 cases. 

The total number of cases is now at 2,887,780.