KUCHING, June 23 — Sarawak will probably be the first in the country to achieve herd immunity against Covid-19 by the end of August, said Minister of Local Government and Housing Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian.
The State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) advisor expressed confidence that Sarawak is on track to vaccinate 80 per cent of its population by August.
“National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has promised us 380,000 doses of vaccines per week and we have proved to the federal government our capacity by vaccinating 440,000 people in the last week alone,” he said.
Dr Sim said strong cooperation between the federal and state governments had allowed Sarawak to accelerate its vaccinations from about 10,000 to 60,000 a day.
He remarked Sarawak will soon overtake Selangor with regard to the total number of people vaccinated, pointing out many of the vaccines ordered by the federal government in December had only just arrived.
On vaccination centres (PPVs), Dr Sim said Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) PPV will soon split vaccination capacity to 3,000 for those residing in Kuching and 2,000 for those in Samarahan.
The Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) PPV has also started administering Sinovac and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, he said.
“Also I would like to call on the leaders in the business community, whether it is in the coffeeshops, construction, or other professional sectors to exercise wisdom during this extraordinary pandemic crisis,” Dr Sim said after presenting food aid initiated by the Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developers’ Association (Sheda) Kuching at Premier Food Republic near Emart Batu Kawah.
He said the priority right now is to save lives by vaccinating a majority of the public before focusing on reviving the economy.
“Handling this pandemic requires a professionalism approach and not politicking. Politicking can wait until we win the battle against the pandemic,” he stressed.
Dr Sim thanked all front-liners for working tirelessly to overcome the pandemic, with most working seven days a week and taking on double shifts.
“I hope everyone can stay strong mentally during this trying time as all of us unite in the fight against the pandemic. Let’s play our own roles to support those in need,” he said. — Borneo Post
