PETALING JAYA: Noting that businesses are unhappy with the slow roll-out of vaccines and the surge in Covid-19 cases, Selangor is implementing its own initiative to complement the national vaccination effort.
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It plans to roll out its Selgate Covid-19 Vaccination Programme this month and businesses wishing to get their employees vaccinated can start registering online.
Those who register will be given the Sinovac vaccine. The cost of the required two doses of Sinovac is expected to be RM380.
Employers can register at the Selangkah Selangor app/kesihatan/Vax Swasta. Once they register, they will get an immediate response with a booking ID and an acknowledgement that a quotation will be emailed within the next three working days.
This initiative is undertaken by Selgate Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor (PKNS).
The vaccinations will be done at the firms if they have more than 1,500 workers or at panel clinics if their staff strength is below 1,500.
The Selangor government has embarked on this because 65% of the country’s 907,500 small- and medium-enterprises (SMEs) are located in the state.
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In addition to vaccination, saliva tests are also available. This is a breakthrough because saliva tests are easier and faster to administer than the traditional swab tests.
The first of the saliva tests was rolled out for the production workers of a food processing factory in Klang this Monday. Saliva testing can be done for as low as RM150.
Another important initiative is remote monitoring and self-isolation. This service will be rolled out within a week and the cost is between RM1,100 and RM4,000, depending on the package.
Self-isolation is important because by the time a person tests Covid-19 positive, it could be another three to five days before the patient is contacted by the health ministry’s CAC (Covid-19 Assessment Centre) and informed where to check-in.
During this period of uncertainty, a patient with weak immunity may fall into a coma due to hypoxia (lack of oxygen because the lungs are affected by the virus). This remote monitoring system will alert the health network to rush the patient to hospital within the critical three hours.-FMT