PETALING JAYA: Malaysians are generally eager to get in line for the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.

"Sign me up!","I'm in","Finally" and "I volunteer as a tribute!" were among the responses from Malaysians on social media after Khairy Jamaluddin announced that Malaysia will be offering the AstraZeneca vaccine on a “first come, first served” basis to the general public.

The coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme said on Wednesday (April 29) that the vaccines will be given only to those who voluntarily receive them.

Although some remain sceptical, Malaysians who are eager to get in line are anticipating more details on the inoculation programme.

One of them is YouTuber and radio host Jin Lim, better known as Jinnyboy, who asked Khairy if this will be open to all.

"Will this be for the general public... or is priority given to seniors (senior citizens) first?" he asked on Twitter.

Khairy replied that this is meant for the general public, adding that clinical guidelines for different age groups will be published later to help the public make an informed decision.

The main question on the minds of interested Malaysians is how they can be part of it, like Rukkeeshrau Subarau, who asked "How to register for it?"

Another Twitter user, Iswar Nethi @iswarnethi, could barely hide his enthusiasm when he said: "I am going to pounce on the AstraZeneca vaccine the moment it becomes available."

Aysha Ridzuan @ayshardzn said: "It’s available if you want it, if you are 18 & above. 260k doses available. Who’s gonna sign up? I think I will."

During the announcement, Khairy said vaccination dispensing centres (PPV) will be opened in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur for now, where the number of Covid-19 infections is very high.

In response to this, numerous requests were also made on social media for the AstraZeneca vaccine drive to be held outside Kuala Lumpur and Selangor as well.

Facebook user Michael Sak said he lives in Penang but wants to take the AstraZeneca vaccine.

"Will (the government) set up PPVs in Penang for this?" he asked.

"If available in Seremban I will take it. Better than waiting and waiting," said another Facebook user, Jennie Lee.

Chey Vun Khen said: "I live in Sandakan but I want to have this (AstraZeneca) jab. The sooner one gets jabbed the better."

He also suggested that the registration process for the AstraZeneca vaccination be incorporated in the MySejahtera app to make things easier for Malaysians who are interested.

Twitter user MomofBoys @elleharis echoed the sentiment, saying: "Can we consider optimising MySejahtera and not (use) a new registration system... for AstraZeneca? Then all our data comes from one source."

Malaysia currently has about 268,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines with another shipment due in May.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/04/29/sign-me-up-malaysians-excited-to-volunteer-for-astrazeneca-jabs