MIRI: Senior citizens aged 60 and above and individuals with comorbidities in Miri Division began receiving their Covid-19 booster dose today (Oct 28).
Miri Divisional Disaster Management Committee (DDMC) said the programme will involve all districts in Miri Division, namely Miri, Subis, Marudi, Beluru and Telang Usan districts.
The implementation of booster doses and additional doses in Miri Division had started on Oct 13 for health and safety frontliners.
“The administration of the booster dose is for individuals who have received a complete dose of the Comirnaty (Pfizer-BioNTech) vaccine at least six months ago and also individuals who have received a complete dose of the Sinovac vaccine at least three months ago.
“Those who are eligible will be given a booster dose of the Comirnaty vaccine type,” Miri DDMC said.
The committee explained that the administration of the booster dose was voluntary and free of charge under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NCIP).
Eligible individuals of the booster dose will be notified through MySejahtera to their registered telephone number.
“For individuals who do not have MySejahtera, the local vaccination centre (PPV) will work with the community leaders and village chiefs to obtain the names of vaccine recipients who are eligible and agree to receive the booster dose.
“The booster dose will be given at all public PPVs, private hospital PPVs, and private clinic PPVs involved as well as Klinik Kesihatan PPVs (for rural areas) through appointment,” said Miri DDMC.
The listed public PPVs as Curtin University PPV, Eastwood Valley PPV, Dewan Masyarakat Bekenu PPV, Dewan Masyarakat Sepupok PPV, Dewan Suarah Marudi PPV, Dewan Masyarakat Beluru PPV, and Dewan Terbuka Long Lama PPV.
As for private PPVs, these are Lee Clinic, Klinik Dinamik Sdn Bhd, U.N.I Klinik Miri, Borneo Medical Centre Miri, Columbia Asia Hospital Miri, Miri City Medical Centre, and KPJ Miri Specialist Hospital.
Meanwhile, the additional doses will also be given to immunocompromised individuals such as cancer patients, patients with kidney disease undergoing dialysis treatment, and so on, whereby the complete doses are not sufficient to provide them optimal protection.
“This additional dose is given at least 28 days after receiving complete doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. The administration of this additional dose is under the coordination of the hospital and will be given under the supervision of a physician,” the committee said.
At the same time, Miri DDMC advised the public to continue adhering to the standard operating procedures (SOPs), pointing out that individuals who had received a complete dose of the Covid-19 vaccine must still be cautious and comply with the SOPs set.
