SUNGAI BESAR, Feb 22 — The Education Ministry (MOE) will give priority to teachers in the high-risk group for the Covid-19 vaccine if the request for them to be included in the first phase of the Covid-19 vaccination programme starting Wednesday, is approved.

Deputy Education Minister 1 Muslimin Yahaya said the MOE was in discussions with the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (MOSTI) for teachers to also be given the vaccine in the first phase of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme seeing that schools will be opening next month.

"If the request is approved, the ministry will give priority to high-risk teachers to get the vaccine,” he told reporters after conducting a survey on the first day of the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination at Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan (SMJK) Yoke Kuan, Sekinchan here today .

Earlier, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said, they have received many applications from certain groups, including educators who wanted to be among the first phase recipients of the Covid-19 vaccine.

He said the application was seen as reasonable as schools would reopen in March.

However, Khairy, who is also the Coordinating Minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, said they were facing constraints as the supply of vaccines for the first phase was only about one million doses of which a partial amount had been earmarked for some 500,000 medical and non-medical frontliners.

Therefore, Khairy requested that the MOE list the high-risk teachers so that they can receive the vaccine ahead of schools opening in March. — Bernama