The health ministry will procure a new variant of Covid-19 vaccine especially for children with chronic diseases and the elderly, minister Khairy Jamaluddin said today.
He added that the vaccine will be administered free of charge, but not to all groups as the Covid-19 situation in Malaysia is under control.
"A decision on this procurement will be announced later, along with the vaccines for children under five," he told a press conference after an event in Putrajaya today.
According to Khairy, the vaccines will be administered at both government and private health facilities.
To kickstart the vaccination process, the ministry has asked the Public Health and Paediatric Departments to provide data on patients with comorbidities and high-risk children in the country, he said.
"This data will be collected in the health ministry's database. It will help the ministry to procure enough vaccines," he said.
The highest number of vaccinations ever recorded in the country was achieved on July 28 last year, with 581,566 doses administered in one day.
To date, 72 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered to Malaysians, including the elderly, adolescents and children.