KUCHING: A survey conducted by the Sarawak Health Department found that 60.3 per cent of 41,350 respondents from among parents in the state supported the Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids).
Datuk Jonathan Chai, president of the Association of the Boards of Management of Aided Primary Schools in Kuching, Samarahan and Serian said while most parents are supportive of the vaccination programme for the kids, others are sceptical.
He said the survey also found that 14.5 per cent of parents were not keen on allowing their children to be vaccinated as they have concerns about complications and side effects of the vaccine.
"We understand the concerns of some parents and indeed, we respect their decision against allowing their children to get vaccinated. It's their right."
"We will still do our part by strictly adhering to the Covid-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) irrespective of the number we achieve for vaccinations among school children," he said.
Chai said the school boards will provide the necessary support in ensuring sufficient supply of hand sanitizers, disinfectants and other supplies to keep the virus out of schools.
He hoped that parents could make an objective and sensible assessment whether to allow their children to get vaccinated based on information gathered from reliable sources and not fake news or hearsay from social media.
If possible, he said they should consult any qualified doctor or health expert to get their professional advice.
"With the spike of positive cases for the recent Omicron variant, we hope to achieve a high rate of vaccination among students to provide a safer environment for them to have physical classes in school," he said after visiting the MBKS stadium vaccination centre here today.
Chai said it was very encouraging to see the overwhelming response from parents of SJK Chung Hua No.3 this morning to get their children vaccinated.
He said the three-day-programme (to vaccinate children from the SJK Chung Hua No.3) involved 1132 students representing 90.27 percent of the student population in the school.
"I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the headmistress and the teachers for their tireless efforts and commitment in contacting the parents and spending time in following through the whole process. I think that was one of the reasons for the high vaccination rate achieved in the school," he said.
