Vaccination treatment centre in Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council of Labuan.
(Source: Berita DIMENSi / Izzul Nazaruddin)

LABUAN – Following the success of the phase one vaccination program in Malaysia, Labuan was amongst the first out of the three federal territories to begin phase two of the vaccination and since then their registration rate has been progressively consistent.

On May 17, Labuan recorded a total of over 30,000 patients that registered for the phase two of Labuan vaccination program which accumulated to about 50% from population vaccinated target, according to statistics provided by The Special Committee On COVID-19 Vaccine Supply (JKJAV).

Statistics on the National COVID-19 Immunisation Registration Program's progress.
(Source: The Special Committee On COVID-19 Vaccine Supply (JKJAV)

This makes Labuan one of the fastest states to reach more than 50% total registration for the vaccination program taking the third place to Kuala Lumpur (55.43%) and Putrajaya (100%)

With an estimated rate of 700 vaccinated patients a day, Labuan has successfully vaccinated 17.7% of its population which makes up over 12,000 patients, with Putrajaya's hastening forward in vaccination with 22.02% rate.

Threats from the anti-vaccine community have instilled scepticism and doubt in many who are hesitant to get vaccinated. They also used the opportunity to spread fear and disinformation about the vaccine, mostly through social media.

In a WhatsApp interview with Berita DIMENSi, Dr. Amalina Nazaruddin, a medical officer from the State Health Department of the Federal Territory of Labuan, claimed that the majority of information on social media is false, and that people prefer hot news to verified information.

“Social media influence and fake news are one of the main reasons people do not want to register for the vaccination program. Besides that, chain-messages sent through WhatsApp influence the individual decision to register for the vaccination program,” said Dr. Amalina.

Thus, the government is taking initiative to further spread awareness about the benefit of vaccines and the importance of herd immunity by using multiple platforms.

“To prevent this situation, the Minister of Health is working with other agencies to educate the citizens about the benefits of vaccines in every angle.

“Doctors can directly advise and consult the patient about the vaccine and clear their worries while the other alternative is to educate people through other mediums such as the radio, online newspaper and including other social media platforms such Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

“Through this effort, we are putting high hopes which is to protect the citizens from more dangerous COVID-19 infections,” says Dr. Amalina.

Herd immunity can prevent the further spread of COVID-19 but with the disinformation from the anti-vaccine community, it slows down the government efforts to reach the goal of vaccinating 80% Malaysians.

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