BUKIT Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran has criticised the overcrowding in vaccination centres, calling the decision to announce walk-ins at the fully-packed halls where people had to travel from afar and queue for hours to receive their jabs “completely foolish”.
In a statement today, Rajiv cited the situation at the Dewan Sivik MBPJ, which is one of the halls open for teenage vaccination and is located in his constituency.
“It has come to all our attention that the overcrowding in the hall and areas surrounding it has caused major inconvenience not only to the surrounding but also to the people who have been lining up for hours in order to receive their vaccinations.
“Many will have to return without getting their shot after wasting a few hours as there is only limited vaccine availability every day,” he stated.
Rajiv went on to question if the current move was being done with a legitimate purpose and asked if there really were enough vaccines to cover all those in the 12-17 age category.
“Only 20% of each day’s capacity is allocated for teens. If we are on a vaccine shortage, then the Government should be obligated to say so without putting on a show like this and burdening the people,” he added.
According to Rajiv, schools should have informed their students of their appointments and it should have been made clear to all parents and students when and where they can begin to receive their vaccinations.
“All this ambiguity is confusing and is making the people anxious,” he remarked.
For teens who do not go to school or have dropped out, Rajiv proposed that they be given an appointment either through MySejahtera or by a booking system.
“Allowing walk-in before putting a proper system in place was a complete blunder.”
Rajiv further pointed out that nearly two million individuals fall under the category of 12-17 year-olds and opening this sudden floodgate will result in long queues to form daily at the vaccination centres which will further endanger them.
“The Government needs to reverse this policy of walk-ins for 12 to 17 years olds and revert to an appointment system for a more orderly dispensation of the vaccine.
“The Government should also open up more vaccination centres in order to effectively vaccinate the approximately 2 million people in this age bracket.
“There are hundreds of clinics [whose doctors] are trained and experienced in vaccinations, and they should be roped in to help,” he said.
Not holding back, Rajiv also said that the Government was also really silly to prematurely close the mega vaccination centres just a couple of weeks before embarking on a massive exercise of vaccinating the entire 12-17 years-old population. – Sept 27, 2021
