KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Malaysia kicked off its vaccination drive for children aged five to 11 years old on Thursday in a bid to protect the age group from COVID-19.
The move to vaccinate the age group came as 147,282 were infected in the past six months, with 26 deaths recorded, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said in his speech at the launch of the vaccination drive here.
He said children are also at risk of developing complications of the multisystem inflammatory syndrome and getting Long COVID that can cause prolonged symptoms and interrupt their recovery.
Khairy said the ministry targets vaccinating 70 percent of schooling children between seven and 12 years old or younger, and 50 percent of the country's 3.6 million children including those aged five years old with one dose by the end of February.
He also thanked parents for their enthusiasm in cooperating in the vaccination program, noting that 517,107 eligible children have been registered as of Feb. 1.
Malaysia reported 30,194 vaccine doses administered on Wednesday alone and 79.8 percent of the population have received at least one dose. Among them, 78.7 percent are fully vaccinated and 36.9 percent have received boosters.