KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 — The National Union of Journalists of Peninsular Malaysia (NUJM) today called on all media practitioners who are not vaccinated to refrain from going for any field reporting or coverage in public places.

NUJM president Farah Marshita Abd Patah said the union made the call as part of its efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19 among media personnel who have yet to be vaccinated.

She noted that in regard to the matter, NUJM is calling for the cooperation of private media companies as well as the government and editors-in-chief, to only send media personnel who are already vaccinated to carry out ground reporting.

“However, for those who have been vaccinated and are in the field, they are reminded to always maintain standard operating procedures and personal safety.

“As of today (June 9), only a handful of media personnel have received notification for their vaccine dates, while, most of the media personnel across the country are still waiting,” she said in a statement here today.

Farah Marshita said looking at the current political situation in the country, many media personnel have started to “camp” in the field to cover and provide the latest updates on news.

“It is not impossible, if in the near future while doing the coverage, some media personnel may be exposed to Covid-19 transmission and infect other colleagues.

“In light of this, NUJM once again calls on the government to expedite the vaccination of media personnel as promised to us in the first week of June. However, until now, there has been no response,” she added.

Today, the first group of media personnel registered under the National Covid-19 Vaccination Programme started receiving the first dose of vaccine and it will continue in stages. — Bernama