A vial of the CanSino Covid-19 vaccine is seen in Santiago, Chile, on June 3, 2021. — AFP photo
KOTA KINABALU (Aug 25): Sabah received its first shipment of the single-dose CanSino Covid-19 vaccine yesterday.
State Health director Dr Rose Nani Mudin said that the first shipment contained 53,000 doses and more is expected to arrive later this month.
The first shipment of 200,000 doses of CanSino landed in Malaysia last Friday, part of 3.5 million doses ordered in total that is meant for areas with limited access.
Last week, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said that 70,000 CanSino vaccine doses are expected to arrive this week in stages, as Sabah previously requested 1.8 million doses of the vaccine from the federal government.
He said combined with the Pfizer and Sinovac vaccines, the state is expected to receive over 500,000 vaccine doses this week.
The supplies are coming in at a time when the state has been rationing its doses among all vaccination centres, and falling short of its 50,000 jabs a day target for two days in a row, reportedly due to a disruption in shipment.
“We will continue to increase the vaccination rate by intensifying vaccination activities including our outreach to remote areas, and open all vaccination centres for walk-ins, to give all residents of Sabah the opportunity to be vaccinated,” said Dr Rose Nani.
She previously said that the state has the capacity to administer more than 60,000 doses a day if there were enough people coming into the vaccination centres. On Aug 18 it hit its peak with 62,365 jabs. — Malay Mail