Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba speaks to the media during the National Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force briefing in Putrajaya, July 5, 2021. — Bernama pic
KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 — Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba today said that no money has been paid out of the Special Financial Aid for Severe Adverse Covid-19 Effects, as yet.
During the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) joint press conference with Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, Dr Adham was asked as to how much has been paid out to vaccine recipients who later developed severe side effects from their jabs.
“To date, the fund is not yet used to be given to those who experienced adverse effects from Covid-19 [vaccination] in our country,” he said.
Dr Adham said that to date out of every 1,000 vaccination doses, 18.6 self assessment reports were received for normal and minor adverse events following immunisation.
Of this, he said, only 1.4 reports per 1,000 doses were classified as serious, needing hospital admission. However, he said most of these cases only required short term admissions and can be discharged after observation and appropriate treatments.
In March, the government agreed to compensate individuals who suffer severe adverse effects after being vaccinated for Covid-19.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba said the compensation is capped at RM500,000 per person, which will be paid out by the National Disaster Management Agency.
He added that the government has also approved an initial fund of RM10 million for this purpose.
According to Dr Adham, the compensation will be offered in two categories; For those who experience serious side effects and need long-term medical treatment will be compensated with RM50,000, and secondly, those who face permanent disabilities or death will receive a compensation of not more than RM500,000.
Explaining further, Dr Adham said the government has set up three committees to observe and assess adverse reactions and safety issues related to Covid-19 vaccines.
“The three committees are: the Pharmacovigilance Committee — to observe and assess the adverse reaction following immunisation; the Technical Committee — this committee will decide legitimacy of aid applicant; and the third is the main committee that will give the final approval for the special aid,” he said on March 22.