Fatimah (left) posed for a photo with vaccination recipient at NMSC today.
KUCHING (June 19): A total of 331 members of the disabled today got their first Covid-19 vaccination at the Normah Medical Specialist Centre (NMSC) in conjunction with the Vaccination Programme for People with Disabilities.
Welfare, Community Well-being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah visited the hospital to take a closer look at the vaccination progress.
The vaccination drive was organised by the NMSC in collaboration with the ministry, and held from 8.30am to 12.30pm today.
The recipients were members of the Disabled Sports Association (143), private (159), special needs education (25), the ministry (1) and other disabled individuals (3).
“This programme allows the disabled, the vulnerable group, to be vaccinated early. Next week, a second group of about 300 from the disabled people aged above 18 list will receive their vaccination,” said Fatimah in a statement today.
At the same time, she thanked NMSC for stepping up to provide vaccination slots to those with special needs, and the ministry’s Childhood Development Division and the Disabled Development Unit for conducting active tracing for the disabled who have not registered for, or not yet receive the vaccination, and sending the name list to NMSC.
Similarly, she also called on the president, manager of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for the disabled as well as the Village Security and Development Committee (JKKK) to inform the ministry if there are disabled people who are not yet registered or have not been vaccinated.
This is to ensure that there are no disabled people outside the institution of the Social Welfare Department were left out in the vaccination drive, she said.
On Wednesday (June 16) to Friday, a total of 750 disabled people and their guardians were vaccinated at the Agape Center in Sibu. This is the result of a collaboration between the Agape Center and Sibu Divisional Health Department and Sibu Divisional Hospital.
For other divisions and districts, the Welfare Department has been tasked with active tracing of disabled people who have not been vaccinated in co-operation with JKKKs, and handing the name list to the Head of the District Vaccination Centrefor further action. This is to ensure that no disabled person is eligible for vaccination dropped out of the vaccination process, she said.