PONTIAN, March 6 — High rental has led to the Health Ministry’s decision to shut down operations of all Covid-19 mega vaccination centres (PPV) from March 16, its minister Khairy Jamaluddin said.

He said the ministry found that these centres, usually involving large convention halls, were no longer cost-effective to operate from. 

"These centres are not free, and we have to pay to use them, and now there is no longer a need to keep operating from these integrated or mega PPVs.

"Using smaller settings such as private or health clinics will be sufficient from now onwards,” he told reporters after a visit to the Serkat Health Clinic in Kukup near here today.

Khairy added that there were now fewer Covid-19 vaccine recipients as the majority of the population has been inoculated.

"In Johor alone, over 70 per cent have received their booster shots and as for the Covid-19 National Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids), it can be done in schools, namely school PPVs,” he said.

Yesterday, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah announced that all mega PPVs will be closed beginning March 16.

He said until then, the Axiata Arena PPV in Bukit Jalil and the World Trade Centre (WTC) PPV in Kuala Lumpur will still be open for walk-ins. — Bernama