KUCHING (Feb 12): Parents in Sarawak who are still hesitant about getting the Covid-19 vaccine for their children should put safety as the key factor in making their decision, said Chief Minister Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

He said with the Omicron wave causing a spike in infections, it is important to ensure that children are vaccinated.

“Some parents are still doubtful about the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids). They need to decide urgently to allow their children to get the vaccine.

"Though the new variant is not severe, it is spreading rapidly and one way of reducing the number of Omicron infections is to increase antibody responses  [through the vaccine]," he said after visiting the PICKids vaccination centre (PPV) at the Kota Sentosa Health Clinic here on Saturday (Jan 12).

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Since the implementation of PICKids on Feb 3, some 19,430 children or 6.8% of the 286,000 children population in Sarawak had received their vaccine.

A survey conducted by the Sarawak Health Department found that 60.3% of the 41,350 respondents from among parents in the state-supported PICKids.

The survey also found that 14.5% of parents were not keen on allowing their children to be vaccinated as they have concerns about complications and side effects of the vaccine.