Those entering Malaysia may verify foreign COVID-19 vaccination at district health offices

JOHOR BAHRU: Those who completed their COVID-19 vaccination abroad will be able to get their immunisation certificates verified by local health authorities when they enter Malaysia.

Only then will their fully vaccinated status be reflected in Malaysia's contact tracing MySejahtera mobile application, said Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Adham Baba on Sunday (Sep 5). 

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a vaccination centre visit in Johor, Dr Adham said these individuals who received their immunisation doses abroad may lodge a report at any District Health Office.

They should also bring along documents and certificates as proof so that officials can assess the authenticity of the vaccine they received.

“Those who got vaccinated from overseas, especially Singapore, who wish to update their vaccination profile on MySejahtera, we need them to head down to a district health office (PKD) to inform officials of their vaccination status,” said Dr Adham.  

“After the district health office has verified the certificate, the state health department will send information and data to the Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC) in Putrajaya. CPRC will then inform MySejahtera to update and issue a digital certificate in the (individual’s) profile.

“Regardless of the nationality or foreigner, most importantly, we want to confirm whether the vaccination certificate issued abroad was genuine or not and to find out the type of vaccine they received,” said Dr Adham.

GOVERNMENT RAMPING UP VACCINATION IN JOHOR

During the interview, Dr Adham also announced that the government’s COVID-19 immunisation task force (CITF) has requested that seven more mobile vaccination centres be added to the existing 13 in Johor to ramp up immunisation efforts in the southern state.

“This effort is in line with the commitment … to speed up the vaccination process in states that will soon face the monsoon season, including the state of Johor,” said Dr Adham.

He also outlined that Johor was the state which received the second largest supply of vaccines in August, and will also receive the second largest supply in September.

“With this amount of vaccines supplied, I am confident the vaccination efforts in Johor will be improved. I would also like to call on the CITF in Johor to ensure there is adequate capacity and manpower throughout the state so that daily vaccination efforts can be run smoothly without any interruption,” he added.

As of Saturday, 52.6 per cent of the adult population in Johor have completed both doses of the vaccine. This is below the national average of 67.4 per cent.  

Dr Adham’s announcement came amid concerns of a spike in COVID-19 infections and deaths in the state.

Last Sunday, Johor’s chief minister said the Johor state government will ramp up targeted mass COVID-19 testing to effectively isolate those who test positive.

The opposition Pakatan Harapan coalition in Johor earlier stressed that the state’s vaccination rates need to be increased immediately to achieve herd immunity by the end of the year.

In August, the Sultan of Johor expressed disappointment over the state’s low vaccination rate, saying the situation “is now getting worse with the spread of the Delta variant”.