FMM In the News: THE STAR, PETALING JAYA, Wednesday, June 16, 2021 - Companies should opt for the Model One vaccination procedure under the Program Imunisasi Industri Covid-19 Kerjasama Awam-Swasta (Pikas), says Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM).
Its president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai said although the government would provide the vaccine without cost, interested companies were required to fully bear the administration costs for their employees.
“We understand that the vaccine administration costs under Model One is RM45 per dose per employee. Each employee will need two doses.
“The total cost per employee is RM90 to be paid upfront to the operators, ” he said in a statement.
Under Pikas, Model One vaccination is at a common use Vaccination Administration Centre (PPV) while Model Two is on-site vaccination initiated by a company to be within factory premises or at an approved location.
Soh said they urged members, especially SMEs, to choose Model One because of the higher clarity with a fixed cost and that the PPVs would be operational soon from June 28.
“Pikas provides the opportunity for manufacturing companies to take part in an accelerated immunisation programme for their employees.
‘’The costs, which cover the usage of the designated PPV sites and services of medical, non-medical and all other incidental costs, are acceptable to the interested companies that have voluntarily registered for this programme, ” he said.
Soh said manufacturers have been carrying out and paying for regular Covid-19 tests for their employees to help flatten the Covid-19 curve.
“This is in addition to ensuring precautionary measures and operations are carried out with full and strict adherence to the standard operating procedure.
‘’The implementation of Pikas will greatly complement these efforts to achieve herd immunity faster, ” he said.
Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia president Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh said private hospitals would not be charging the employees of companies to administer the vaccine under Pikas.
Dr Kuljit said companies interested in the programme have to go through ProtectHealth Corporation Sdn Bhd.
“ProtectHealth will coordinate and give private hospitals the names of the companies where its employees can get their vaccination.
“These hospitals have all the processes to accept any kind of vaccine including manpower and safety issues taken care of, ” he said.
He also said private hospitals were not allowed to go on-site at a company to conduct vaccinations.
ProtectHealth, a non-profit organisation under the Health Ministry, is the appointed implementer of the vaccination process for the industry sector under Phase Four of the national immunisation programme.
Dr Kuljit said 129 private hospitals have registered with ProtectHealth.
“We do not charge the people. If they come in, we strictly follow the rules. ProtectHealth will pay private hospitals RM14 per jab and will deal with the company, ” he said.
On Monday, ProtectHealth refuted claims that it was charging RM50 for the administration of vaccines, adding that workers involved in the implementation of Pikas would receive the vaccines purchased by the government.
However, it noted that the employer would have to get the approval of the ministry and Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force to cover the preparation cost of the PPV according to the technical and procedural specifications.