A nurse loads a syringe with a dose of Covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre in Kapar, Klang on April 28, 2021. — Malay Mail photo
SIBU (May 17): The state government is in the process of making procurement for the 500,000 doses of Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine, which is expected to be finalised soon, said Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing, Dr Annuar Rapaee.
He was clarifying an earlier statement that Sarawak is expected to receive 500,000 doses of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine, procured by the state government, within a week.
“The state government is in the process of procuring the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine and there is no time frame for the shipment of the vaccine to arrive here (Sarawak).
“The procurement is on-going and should be finalised soon. And hence, it does not mean that the vaccine will be delivered in a week’s time.
“But, hopefully, it (vaccine) will arrive as soon as possible to curb the spread of Covid-19 and I have always stressed that vaccination is the last weapon against the disease,” said Dr Annuar, who is Sibu Division Disaster Management Committee (SDDMC) coordinator.
He, however, was quick to point out that the supply or distribution of vaccines should not be the primary concern for now, as some one million of the targeted 2.08 million people in Sarawak have yet to register themselves for the vaccination programme.
He said the programme would fail if the target of vaccinating 70 per cent of the population is not achieved to create herd immunity, adding that in Sibu alone, some 94,000 people have yet to register themselves to be vaccinated.
“While we have adequate supply of vaccines, if people are not registering themselves to be vaccinated, it defeats the whole purpose of obtaining more supply of vaccines. I think we don’t talk about distribution (of vaccines) now, but what is more urgent now is to get as many people as possible to register themselves as soon as possible, and as fast as possible.
“Like I said, my immediate concern is the number of people in the state still yet to register themselves to be vaccinated. Our target is to get 70 per cent of the people (or 2.08 million of the population in Sarawak) to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity, but data showed that some one million people have yet to do so,” the Nangka assemblyman pointed out.
He also noted that many from the younger age bracket, those aged above 18 and below 30 years, have yet to register themselves for vaccination, which he believed had to do with the perception among younger people that the virus only infected the elderly.
“As for Sibu (alone), there are some 94,000 people who have yet to register themselves for the vaccination programme.
“I will work together with (acting) Sibu Resident (Wong Hee Sieng) to identify who are these people and to reach out to them to convince them to go for vaccination,” he said.
Additionally, he stressed that it is important for everyone to abide by the standard operating procedure (SOP) as it is a mitigation measure to curtail the spread of Covid-19.
“But to completely stop the spread of Covid-19, vaccination is the answer. If you look at countries such as United States, United Kingdom and so on, the daily cases of Covid-19 had dropped even after rollout of the first dose of vaccination. In fact, the death rate due to Covid-19 had also declined,” he said.
Pointing out that it is not possible for enforcement authorities to be at every nook and corner to ensure SOP compliance, he said the onus is on everyone to be disciplined and observe the measures to curb the disease.
“That is why I have repeatedly said, vaccination is the last weapon to eradicate Covid-19 once and for all,” he added.