KOTA SAMARAHAN: The Ministry of Health (MoH) is prepared to assist any state government planning to implement vaccination programmes for school students to curb the spread of Influenza A.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni said so far, only Selangor had carried out an influenza vaccination initiative at the state level involving about 12,000 students.
“If any state government is interested in carrying out its own vaccination programme, the ministry is ready to provide technical assistance and advice,” he told reporters after attending the Ministry of Health Training Institute (ILKKM) 2025 Convocation Ceremony for Sarawak Zone at DeTAR Putra, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), here today (Oct 18).
He said vaccination efforts for senior citizens continued nationwide, with coverage now reaching 95.05 per cent.
He added the ministry still had over 8,000 vaccine doses available for the elderly, although no specific vaccination programme was in place due to the high cost.
“We have around 8,000 doses that can be administered to senior citizens. However, we do not yet have a dedicated programme because it involves significant expenditure,” he added.
On research into influenza strains, Lukanisman said four variants—A, B, C and D—were still being monitored.
“Influenza A and B remain the most common types infecting humans, and so far no new variant has been detected in our laboratories,” he said.
“If any state government is interested in carrying out its own vaccination programme, the ministry is ready to provide technical assistance and advice,” he told reporters after attending the Ministry of Health Training Institute (ILKKM) 2025 Convocation Ceremony for Sarawak Zone at DeTAR Putra, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), here today (Oct 18).
He said vaccination efforts for senior citizens continued nationwide, with coverage now reaching 95.05 per cent.
He added the ministry still had over 8,000 vaccine doses available for the elderly, although no specific vaccination programme was in place due to the high cost.
“We have around 8,000 doses that can be administered to senior citizens. However, we do not yet have a dedicated programme because it involves significant expenditure,” he added.
On research into influenza strains, Lukanisman said four variants—A, B, C and D—were still being monitored.
“Influenza A and B remain the most common types infecting humans, and so far no new variant has been detected in our laboratories,” he said.