A screenshot of the JKJAV AZ vaccine sign up page shows the vaccination dates which are still available in Sarawak.
KUCHING (May 24): There appears to still be many empty slots for the AstraZeneca (AZ) Covid-19 opt-in jabs in Sarawak based on the available vaccination dates on the Special Committee on Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee (JKJAV) website.
As of noon today, only the first three days of the 51-day vaccination period from June 7 to July 27 have been closed for each of the two vaccination centres in Sarawak – the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching here and the Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara in Miri.
Comparatively, 34 days have been taken up for two vaccination centres in Selangor, 14 in Kuala Lumpur, and eight each in Johor and Penang, which also have one vaccination centre each.
Registration for the opt-in programme, which opened at noon yesterday, is only for people who are 60 years old and above, and is currently only available in Kuching and Miri in Sarawak.
Those who register are given the choice of when and where they want to be vaccinated. However, it is not known how many vaccinations will be carried out in a day.
The Borneo Post has also reached out to National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme Coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin on the number of AZ doses for the state and why it was only available in Kuching and Miri.
Sarawak had initially rejected the AZ vaccine, which is called Vaxzevria, due to public concern over its possible side effects.
This came after the federal government decided to remove the vaccine from the national immunisation plan and offer it instead through a voluntary programme.
When registration for the opt-in programme was opened on May 1 in the Klang Valley, all 268,000 slots were snatched up within three hours.
Subsequently, the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee decided to allow the use of the AZ vaccine in the state in view of the success of the opt-in programme in the Klang Valley and public feedback on the matter.
For those who interested to sign up for the AZ vaccine opt-in vaccination, go to https://www.vaksincovid.gov.my/astrazeneca/.