Speaking at a press conference at Parliament today, Khairy said the health ministry had also given teenagers who are immunocompromised the green light to get the booster shots.
“I want to stress that this is not mandatory. It’s a choice for those with comorbidities,” Khairy said.
“For the teenagers, we leave it to the parents to discuss with their doctors.”
He said that as per recommendations from the Technical Working Committee (TWG) under the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force-Booster (CITF-B), senior citizens with comorbidities can receive their second booster doses four to six months after their first booster.
The immunocompromised teenagers, meanwhile, can receive their booster dose at least 28 days after their second shot.
He added that senior citizens who have been boosted and have tested positive for Covid-19 can also get a second booster three months after they have fully recovered.
According to Khairy, the health ministry is currently receiving applications for second booster doses for those who wish to fulfil European vaccine mandates, adding that not all countries in the continent recognise Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines.
“For example, you have two Sinovac doses and one Pfizer booster. Germany only accepts those who have two Pfizer doses, so the health ministry will accept applications for those travellers to get a second Pfizer dose,” he said.
Meanwhile, touching on the Melaka state government’s move to ban children from Ramadan and Hari Raya bazaars, Khairy said the federal government had no plans to implement similar restrictions.
This comes after his deputy, Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali, last week advised parents not to bring their children to Ramadan bazaars to protect them from being exposed to the virus, especially in light of the low vaccination rate among children.
Only 6.5% of children aged five to 11 have been fully vaccinated, while around 38.7% have received one dose.
“We’re not going to ban children from Ramadan bazaars. We only want to advise parents to leave them at home with family members or caregivers if they can,” Khairy said.
“If possible, don’t take children to the bazaars. But we are not going to restrict their movement.”
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