Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia's National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme for Adolescents officially kicked off on September 20, targeting 3.2 million teenagers aged 12 to 18, according to Malaysia’s Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

The Malaysian government has also set a target of having 80 percent of students vaccinated by the start of the 2022 school year, with priority given to 1.1 million students aged 16-17 currently taking their final exams, he said. These students will be injected with the US's Pfizer vaccine while the Malaysian Ministry of Health is considering the use of China’s Sinovac vaccines for teenagers.

Malaysia’s Ministry of Health is also actively completing the digital vaccination certification system, the minister said.

Malaysia recorded 14,943 new infections and 376 deaths on September 19, bringing the total number of cases to nearly 2.1 million and the death toll to 23,443.
        
In Phnom Penh, meanwhile, Li Ailan, a representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Cambodia, said that Cambodia's policy of vaccination against COVID-19 for children aged 6-12 is a risk-based approach and is a balanced decision.

Vaccination plays a key role in saving lives and reducing the severity of the pandemic, especially the Delta variant, she told Khmer Times.

She emphasised that parents should consult their doctor if they have any concerns about whether or not to vaccinate their children.

“The country is setting a very good example to put its great efforts in suppressing virus transmission, saving lives and minimising social disruption. The Kingdom has been moving fast in vaccinating other age groups including children,” she added.

Ailan noted that current evidence suggests that children with underlying conditions are at increased risk of severe illness from SARS-CoV-2 infection, although they, in general, are less likely to suffer from severe conditions and death following COVID-19 infection.

Since the start of the vaccination campaign in Cambodia on February 10, more than 70 percent of Cambodia's total population or about 16 million people have been inoculated so far.  As of September 17, more than 1.7 million adolescents aged 12 to under 18 and nearly 67,500 children aged 6-12 in the country had been vaccinated.

According to Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, the country will have at least 9 million doses of vaccines to give booster shots to people. As many as 800,000 had received the third dose as of September 16, he said./.