Good news for parents with children who don’t have documentation, because the Ministry of Health (MOH) just announced that immunisation services will be available for them, as reported by Malay Mail.
According to Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, those who can’t produce the documentation needed to prove that they are Malaysians will not be deprived of immunisation services. However, they will be charged a fee for it.
Source: The Star
The fee will be charged according to the Children Healthcare Services Fee under the Fees (Medical) (Cost of Services) Order 2014. He was quoted as saying,
“Fees that are chargeable on children with no documentation are RM40 for registration, consultation and medication (for five days supply) and an additional RM40 for immunisation.”
“This vaccination service is available at all KKM’s health facilities except at the Community Clinics.”
That being said, the service charge will not be imposed during “healthcare outreach activities at immigration detentions or activities to control disease outbreaks”.
Source: USA Today
Therefore, to ensure every child gets vaccinated, KKM is carrying out the outreach activities on a large scale. The activities are implemented in hopes to control a possible outbreak.
Besides that, the outreach activities will also include finding symptomatic cases and children who aren’t immunised.
It was also revealed that under the Control of Infectious Disease Act, all eligible children will be provided free immunisation in “an event of a vaccine-preventable outbreak”. Dr Dzulkefly didn’t forget to add that expatriates’ children will be charged RM40 for vaccination because they are not citizens.
In matters related to development, he shared that any parties including international bodies and corporate organisations are welcomed to help the government, especially in funding the expansion of immunisation coverage in the country.
Source: The Malay Mail
He continued,
“Indeed, we are unable to do (the immunisation) all due to financial constraints. However, when the financial position improves, I believe we will be able to expand it, especially to children without documentation, illegal immigrants and refugees, who have a higher potential to trigger disease outbreaks.”
“I take this matter seriously, because the cost of treatment for any one of the 12 diseases will be much higher.”
“For example, the cost for a diphtheria vaccine is already about RM500, imagine if an outbreak occurred, the handling cost incurred by the government will be much higher. Thus, we need to see the long-term importance of providing immunisation.”
Source: Flickr
This initiative is a start in ensuring all children and adults who live in Malaysia are vaccinated and safe from possible fatal diseases. We hope that this opportunity would be utilised by people who need the service.
What do you think of this initiative? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Also read: Measles Outbreak On the Rise in M’sia Because People are Refusing Vaccination
