KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (July 1): To ensure that all construction workers are immunised against Covid-19 and can continue contributing to the country’s economic progress, approximately two million doses of vaccination are required. According to latest records, there are about one million construction personnel registered with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), with 70 percent being locals and 30 percent being foreigners, according to Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
Fadillah stated that the ministry is actively carrying out the immunisation process for construction workers through the Construction Industry Vaccination Program (CIVac) under the CIDB, a joint effort by the government and the private sector to speed up vaccination for the group.
“For starters, the Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee (JKJAV) has provided 80,000 doses of vaccine to the CIVac program for 40,000 construction workers in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Selangor,” he stated.
He was speaking to reporters after seeing the CIVac vaccination procedure at the CIDB Convention Centre, which began today, with Khairy Jamaluddin, the Coordinating Minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, also present.
On June 21, CIDB opened vaccination registration for all construction personnel in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, and Putrajaya, and all slots were fully booked in less than 24 hours, indicating that industry participants are concerned and ready to ensure their workers get vaccinated, according to Fadillah.
To assess where we stand in the fight for herd immunity, check out our Covid-19 vaccination tracker.
Fadillah said the ministry will request an extra 200,000 doses of vaccine from JKJAV for the second phase of the CIVac initiative, which will involve 100,000 construction workers in Penang, Johor, and Pahang.
On July 14, the Panasonic Sports Complex in Shah Alam will open as a vaccination center for the CIVac program in Selangor.
Before the program is expanded in Sabah and Sarawak, the government is undertaking a research and assessing both states’ readiness, he said.
To make things easier for industry operators, Fadillah said the ministry and CIDB will submit a proposal to the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force to conduct vaccinations at building sites or employees’ lodgings.
The private sector is obliged to create and fund their own competent medical team and vaccination center under the CIVac initiative, while the government would supply and distribute the vaccine free of charge./n
