![]() The immunisation programme is among the initiatives by the Malaysian Government to curb the spread of COVID-19 infections in the country | |
Date | 24 February 2021 | –10 January 2022
---|---|
Location | ![]() |
Theme | "Lindung Diri, Lindung Semua" |
Cause | COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia |
Target | To be fully protected against COVID-19 and transit the country from pandemic to endemic stage |
Organised by | Ministry of Health and the Special Committee for Ensuring Access to COVID-19 Vaccine Supply (JKJAV) |
Participants |
|
Outcome |
|
Website | KKMNOW |
Part of a series on the |
COVID-19 pandemic |
---|
![]() |
|
![]() |
The National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (Malay: Program Imunisasi COVID-19 Kebangsaan), abbreviated as NIP or PICK, was a national vaccination campaign implemented by the Malaysian government to curb the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to end the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia by achieving the highest possible immunisation rate among its citizens and non-citizens residing in the country.[1] It was the largest immunisation programme in the history of Malaysia and was administered by the Special Committee for Ensuring Access to COVID-19 Vaccine Supply (JKJAV) starting in early 2021.
Despite running smoothly for the most part, the programme faced numerous controversies and issues. These included a slow vaccine rollout due to a lack of vaccine supplies, despite the Malaysian government having purchased more than enough for the population. There were also concerns about poor prioritization of vaccine recipients, logistical problems with the MySejahtera's digital vaccination appointment and certificate system, misinformation about vaccines, outbreaks, overcrowding at vaccination centres, and reports of poor treatment of foreign workers by volunteers and authorities.[2][3][4][5][6][7] Videos of recipients receiving empty shots also surfaced, which the government attributed to human error caused by the fatigue of vaccinators.[8][9] Additionally, there were unverified rumours of vaccine spots being sold by volunteers.
A whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach was adopted to assist the programme, involving several ministries and government agencies, state governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the private sector, and members of the community to ensure that the programme achieved its target. Khairy Jamaluddin, who was also Malaysia's Science, Technology and Innovation Minister (MOSTI), was appointed as the Coordinating Minister for the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme after being approved by the Malaysian Cabinet. He served in this role until his resignation on 16 August 2021.[10][11]
The immunisation programme was implemented in phases from 24 February 2021 to February 2022, starting with Phase 1, which targeted healthcare workers and frontliners. Then Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin became the first individual in Malaysia to receive the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, in a broadcast that was aired live nationwide. As of the third week of September 2021, Malaysia averaged about 244,588 doses administered each day. At that rate, it was estimated that it would take an additional 27 days to administer enough doses for another 10% of the population.[12]
Vaccines administered per pharmaceutical company as of 16 June 2021
Total number of people who have received COVID-19 vaccinations in Malaysia as of 16 December 2021
According to the State of Mobile 2022 report, Malaysia's MySejahtera app ranked first in the world for install penetration rate and open rate among the Top COVID-19 Apps by Downloads Worldwide in 2021.[13]