Malaysia approves COVID-19 vaccination leave

The decision came after the meeting of the COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee (JKJAV) where coordinating minister for the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme Khairy Jamaluddin said several suggestions were raised with the Human Resource Ministry to facilitate the nationwide vaccination.

One of the suggestions was a call for employers to grant leave to staff taking their vaccine shots. Saravanan said granting the leave would instill greater confidence to Malaysians to be vaccinated as some are still worried about the jab and its side effects. 

“However, it depends on the employer to give leave as the government cannot declare a special holiday as it is not carried out on the same day,” he said at a media conference after attending the launch of Functional Adaptive Clothing by Social Security Organisation (Socso). 

READ: Malaysia mulls giving a day off for employees to get jab

Across Malaysia, Phase Two of the country’s vaccination programme will kick off on April 19 in eight states – Kedah, Melaka, Pahang, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak, Terengganu and Labuan – and will prioritise the elderly, those with morbidity problems and people with disabilities.

The third phase, which involves adults aged 18 and above, is scheduled to take place in May.