KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 24 — The arrival of Malaysian Airlines flight MH604 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 10 am, Feb 20, 2021, carried not only 312,390 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine onboard, but also hope for many Malaysians that the end of their long struggle against the COVID-19 pandemic was finally here.

Malaysians had long awaited the arrival of the vaccines from Belgium, which would form the country’s main defence against the pandemic, and free Malaysia and her citizens from its grip since it first hit the country in early 2020.

Four days later, then prime minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, became the first Malaysian to be vaccinated under the government’s flagship vaccination programme, the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK), with his first shot on Feb 24 being broadcast live through various media platforms.

The historic moment, which took place at the Putrajaya district health office in Precinct 11, Putrajaya, laid the foundation for the successful implementation of the free vaccination programme, which was eagerly embraced by Malaysians in all states throughout the country.

The herculean efforts of the Health Ministry (MOH) and the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (MOSTI), helmed by Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba and Khairy Jamaluddin respectively – prior to switching portfolios in August – in ensuring the programme’s smooth implementation and managing all related issues are indeed worthy of praise as they were instrumental to PICK’s success.

PICK, which was implemented in four phases, aimed to vaccinate 80 per cent of Malaysia’s adult population to achieve herd immunity to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the country. The country’s frontliners, who had bore the brunt of the pandemic’s onslaught on daily basis for over a year, were selected for vaccination under the first phase of the programme.

A Special Committee on COVID-19 Vaccine Supply, which would become popularly known by its acronym JKAV later on, was soon established to ensure smooth vaccine delivery as vaccine recipients began receiving their appointments via the MySejahtera app and headed to hundreds of vaccination centres throughout the country for their vaccinations.

Walk-in and outreach programmes were also instituted, especially in rural areas in the country’s interior regions, to ensure that the vaccination programme would achieve its aim in a comprehensive manner. Currently, over 97 per cent of the adult population have completed their vaccinations, thanks to such efforts.

Besides Pfizer, Malaysia also procured other vaccines, including Sinovac and AstraZeneca, at a cost of over RM3 billion that was included in the Budget 2021.

PICK’s implementation was not without its challenges, including the issue of AstraZeneca allegedly causing fatalities due to blood clots and the more recent controversy created by irresponsible parties regarding the administering of Pfizer vaccine to teens aged 12 to 17, but the momentum for the programme grew as support from Malaysians continued to pour in from all over the country.

The majority of Malaysians were not swayed by such hearsay, with over a million voluntarily registering themselves as AstraZeneca vaccine recipients even though the vaccine had been originally omitted from the PICK programme, while over 86 per cent of teens between 12 and 17 years have completed their Pfizer vaccinations since vaccinations began for that category on Sept 12.

The emergence of Delta variant in the country resulted in a spike in daily COVID-19 cases, which peaked at 23,564 cases, but did little to derail PICK’s progress, and cases dropped to under 5,000 daily cases as the programme began to produce results.

The lifting of the interstate travel ban, which had been in effect since March, on Oct 11 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob was a momentous occasion for PICK, as 90 per cent of the adult population in Malaysia had completed their vaccinations.

Other controls were also relaxed following the lifting of the travel ban but compliance of the standard operating procedure (SOP) in public areas to restore the economy and prevent a further outbreak continue to be practised by all.

Realising the grave consequences of the newest COVID-19 variant of concern (VOC), the Health Ministry immediately embarked on the implementation of the COVID-19 booster dose shot programme in November, beginning with Sinovac vaccine recipients, to strengthen the antibodies that might have declined several months after completing their vaccinations.

COVID-19 prevention does not merely focus on the vaccination process, but also includes public health readiness through the implementation of various measures, such as the establishment of more COVID-19 Assessment Centres (CAC) and to inculcate the TRISS concept – Test, Report, Isolate, and Seek – among the public as preparations to transition to the endemic phase.

As such, support efforts have intensified, including the distribution of 100,000 COVID-19 care packages to B40 families and the setting of a ceiling retail price for self-administered COVID-19 antigen rapid test kits that took effect on Sept 5 to control the price of the equipment in the market by MOH.

This year also witnessed the MOH making waves by bringing a motion to amend Act 342 at the Parliament to increase the total value of compounds to RM10,000 for individuals and up to RM1 million for companies if they violated the SOP under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988.

Although plans to transition to the endemic phase were disrupted by the appearance of the Omicron VOC, the MOH has taken swift measures to stop travellers from countries with infections from entering the country in a bid to stop the variant from reaching our shores.

Several Omicron cases have been detected so far, but hopes are high that this variant will be unable to spread in the country as Malaysians continue their fight to free themselves from the scourge of COVID-19.

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