KLANG: Any action against doctors found supporting anti-vaccine groups falls under the purview of the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC), according to Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
However, he said, the MoH was constantly monitoring the developments of those groups and continued with its approach of holding dialogue with them to raise awareness about the importance of the vaccination to all infants and children.
“The ministry is always monitoring any campaign organised by the anti-vaccine groups. If they have their own opinion (related vaccination), we also have our own arguments.
“They can’t just simply express their opinions in ‘one flow’, they have to talk to us and we are ready to share the stage with them to talk about this issue if they wish to do so,” he told reporters after an official visit to Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital (HTAR) here, today.
Asked on the number of medical doctors found by the MoH as supporting the anti-vaccine movement, Dr Dzulkefly said the ministry did not monitor the issue.
However, he urged the community to report to the MMC if any doctors were found to have supported anti-vaccine groups so that the MMC could take appropriate action, if necessary.
Commenting on the MoH’s proposal for mandatory vaccination for all infants and children, he said it was at the final stage before being presented to the Cabinet.
“I was informed by the Health director-general (Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah) that the committee had submitted the proposal to him and he would present it to me, before I can bring it to the Cabinet.
“This can’t be done in a hurry. There are many aspects we need to look at and there are some critical issues that are interdependent that need to be scrutinised first. What’s important is we want our children to be safe and not infected by people who are not vaccinated,” he said.
The media previously reported on the setting up of a special task force to realise the proposal and policies for compulsory vaccination in the country to be submitted to the MoH, last month (April).
The Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society (MPS) has also urged the government to make the vaccination mandatory in a bid to lower the spread of vaccine preventable diseases and mortality rates in the country. — Bernama
