KUALA LUMPUR: Several students sitting for major examinations this year are eager to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, saying it will give them confidence and the peace of mind to return to school.

This follows the announcement by the government last week that candidates for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) 2021 would be vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine starting next month.

Owen Nunis, 17, said he and a couple of his classmates decided to register for the vaccine due to the high number of cases in Sarawak.

“We will be going back to school soon and we do not want to take any chances,” said Nunis, a student at SMK Lake in Bau, Kuching.

“Online learning is hard as the internet connectivity in Sarawak is a problem. I will be sitting for my SPM examinations and I just want to stay safe. I hope school reopens soon as I cannot afford to miss more lessons.”

He said two of his good friends – Nathaniel Jumen Remaxson and Andrew Darren Anak Sip – had also registered for the vaccine.

Meanwhile, Colin Nathaniel Nathan of SMK Perimbun, Cheras, was another who signed up to be vaccinated.

His mother, Caroline Tan, said she now has some peace of mind.

“I would have been worried for his health if he did not register for the vaccine. The virus is everywhere and he will be going back to school soon,” she said.

“I am happy we now have the option to vaccinate kids aged 12 and above.”

Universiti Teknologi Mara Sungai Buloh’s Faculty of Medicine’s Infectious Diseases Unit head, Dr Rosnida Mohd Noh, has applauded the government’s decision to allow students sitting for major examinations to be vaccinated.

Dr Rosnida said although findings showed that the Covid-19 symptoms suffered by children up to 17 years old are milder than adults, the vaccination would boost the students’ confidence that they are protected before returning to school.

These are Twentytwo13’s news highlights.

‘CLINICAL TRIALS ON HUMANS FOR MALAYSIA’S COVID-19 VACCINE MONTHS AWAY’
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba said Malaysia is months away from conducting clinical trials on humans for its home-grown vaccine, as it is still in the cloning stage.

He said this during his weekly Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force press conference with National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme coordinating minister, Khairy Jamaluddin.

“We started working on the vaccine in November 2020. After the cloning stage is completed, then the pre-clinical testing on small, and then large animals, will be conducted,” said Dr Adham. He added the research was funded by the Health Ministry, National Institutes of Health, and the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry.

“Once we finish with trials on large animals, we would need a few more months before we can start clinical trials on humans.”

He said only after that was done, and the effectiveness of the vaccine was recorded, could the Malaysian-made vaccine be approved for use.

Research on the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine project is being conducted by the Institute for Medical Research Malaysia and Universiti Putra Malaysia.

OVER 1.6M IN MALAYSIA FULLY VACCINATED
Dr Adham also revealed that 1,612,974 individuals have received both doses of their Covid-19 vaccine as of yesterday, while another 4,202,601 have had their first dose.

He said 140,573 doses were administered yesterday, involving 116,514 first-dose recipients, and 24,059 second-dose recipients.

Selangor (208,031), leads the way in the completed doses, followed by Sarawak (186,008), Johor (167,469), Perak (150,000) and Kuala Lumpur (141,094).

Separately, Khairy said Malaysia is looking at completing eight million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine by the end of the month, and 10.7 million by the middle of July. This would cover 10 per cent of the population.

During the joint press conference, it was also revealed that:

–– Nearly 100 new workplace clusters were recorded in the past week.

–– Covid-19 cases made up 75 per cent of those treated in intensive care units around the country.

–– Malaysia’s inoculation rate was ahead of many countries in the region but behind some nations in Europe.

Those participating in the voluntary Public-private partnership Covid-19 Industry Immunisation Programme were not charged for the vaccines but for operational costs incurred. ––Twentytwo13