KUCHING: The government should start proper communication now to educate the public on the importance of the Covid-19 vaccine.
This is in order to prevent misinformation, confusion, and hesitancy, said Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii.
He said this could be started now while waiting for the required scientific data for the vaccine to be approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) under the Ministry of Health (MoH).
“Resources should be allocated to properly educate and fight misinformation and pseudoscience, which may increase vaccine hesitancy and in turn affect its distribution,” he said in a Facebook post today.
At the same time, he said the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MoSTI) may have to clarify who the intended initial target would be for the first batch of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.
He said while it was generally understood that it should be reserved for frontliners, he believed affected segments of the population such as the elderly with pre-existing conditions or high-risk and vulnerable groups should be taken into consideration since most deaths occur among those in these groups.
He said these aspects, in addition to matters of logistics, distribution infrastructures, and equity, would require a whole-society approach.
“That is why the National Vaccine Roadmap that is being developed by MoSTI must include different research institutes, medical fraternities including the private practice, and even elected representatives from across the political divide.
“(This is) so that there is a joint collaboration to exemplify and coordinate communications to make sure this vaccine reaches its intended target and that no one gets left behind regardless of their status, demographics, or backgrounds,” said Dr Yii.
