Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas
KUCHING (Feb 23): The state government has set up a committee in its effort to properly implement and deliver the Covid-19 vaccines throughout Sarawak, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
In light of the vast areas of the state, he said logistics need to be properly arranged so that the vaccines will not only reach those living in the cities but also in rural areas.
“The Health Ministry (MoH) had also conducted a dry run which carried the ‘vaccine sample’ to Belaga because the vaccine that we use in Malaysia, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, needs to be stored in ultra-cold freezer reaching up to minus 75 degrees Celsius.
“In Sarawak, we have seven locations where we have set up the vaccine storage centres where the vaccines will be stored in freezers not reaching -70 degrees Celsius – but we cannot place them there longer than five hours. So, within five hours, the vaccines must be administered to humans,” he said.
Uggah said this at an interview with senior fellow of the Malaysian Council of Professors (MPN) Dr Jeniri Amir for the Twenty30 television programme aired in TVS last night.
The dry run activity carried out on Jan 29 at the Belaga health clinic was an exercise and trial using only a saline-filled bottle before the real delivery and receiving of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines.
State Health Department director Dr Chin Zing Hing has previously clarified that no testing was carried out on any individuals during the dry run.
On the coordination of logistics, Uggah who is also State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman said the Divisional Disaster Management Committees have placed their recommendations on where to deliver the vaccines and what vehicle type will be used to transport the vaccines so that they can reach to the targeted areas.
In implementing the vaccination programme, he said more manpower is needed in terms of security and having further control of the situation. At the same time, physical distancing will need to be observed as the state is currently in the midst of the pandemic.
“We look at the problems faced (in implementing the vaccine). In the United States which is an advanced country, we can see that one have to wait until seven to eight hours to get the vaccine because of long queues – so this is what we want to avoid.
“During this trying times, we want to provide a comfortable and well arranged place (for the people) so that they do not have to wait long (for the vaccine),” he added.
On possible challenges faced when implementing the vaccination programme, Uggah said those administering the vaccine shots will have to adapt as they need to adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOP).
The second challenge, he added, is in terms of logistics as the vaccines will need to be delivered to rural areas in the state and from there, a decision must be made on what type of vehicles to be used to transport the vaccines.
“Thirdly, we also hope that in Sarawak we can follow the guidelines from MoH – that is those above 18 years of age can be vaccinated.
“In Sarawak, the total population is 2.01 million, but the decision was also made to also administer the vaccines to non-Malaysians, including foreign workers,” he added.