MAY 20 — The United States and United Kingdom’s massive drops in Covid-19 daily cases and deaths from scary numbers in January gives all other countries hope.
While scientific opinions differ on types of vaccinations, schedule of doses or target groups and what constitutes herd immunity, vaccines have universal consensus as the solution.
Erin Mordecai, professor of biology, at California’s Stanford University told NPR this week: “Every vaccination gets us a step closer, every vaccination makes our community, our society a safer, healthier place.”
Malaysia knows and is abuzz with vaccination action. But is federal-state co-operation optimum, charging together to the end zone?
The game is speedy high-volume vaccination even if social distancing remains an imperative to choke off transmissions.
2021 Deadline
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Daily vaccination has reached 70,000 doses, but now state governments desire to drive as much as facilitate.
Vaccine Minister Khairy Jamaluddin says yes to states buying vaccines directly but insists purchases must be National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) approved which is perfectly rational and second, passed through PICK (Program Imunisasi Covid-19 Kebangsaan — The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme), which is complicated.
Separately, former prime minister Najib Razak claims at our current vaccination rate, it would take six years to complete. Khairy was not amused. He rebuts daily vaccinations — already growing — are set to multiply, and completion within 2021.
Can states help the situation or should they firmly play auxiliary roles to the task? To Khairy, the federal plan takes precedence and PICK decides when and how states get vaccines even if they pay for them.
This column asks PICK and the minister to be more conciliatory to the states, especially my home state, Selangor. The richest state houses a quarter of the country — with KL and Putrajaya included — and has the most connected government to its population.
The restart of the country, without a doubt, begins in the Klang Valley.
It takes two, baby
There are various reasons to champion active roles for both Putrajaya and the states.
Currently, PICK allocates vaccines to states, and health ministry staff execute. Though ministry of health staff are assigned by state, they report to the minister before the mentri besar.
Therefore, any independent vaccination programme relies on ministry staff. Selangor for over a decade supervised dialysis centres and instituted free breast cancer screening through interplay with the federal government.
Overall, Putrajaya, states, health employees and the private sector are interlocked. In this case of wanting to ramp up daily vaccinations, the co-operation should be upped not constricted.
Vaccinations are as much medical as they are logistical challenges. Mass vaccinations require information technology, usherers, transporters, caterers, document processors, security personnel and medical professionals.
It’s a colossal undertaking and needs all hands-on-deck.
Federal government must harness state input and resources. In the pursuit of clear command of the national programme, it cannot cut the states at the knees.
They need each other.
Power math
Of course, political points are being contested. Selangor parades former health minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad and its own trackers/processes to underline Pakatan Harapan prowess. The coalition has managed the state for three terms, increasing control with every election even while changing mentri besar.
In dealing with the problem of the day, Selangor cannot risk appearing hapless. Yet, it must avoid undermining the federal government.
Meanwhile, the vaccine minister has his own political predicaments.
Khairy holds no elected national leadership position in Umno, in fact he is not even a division chief. Party deputy president Mohamad Hasan holds Umno Rembau and duly eyes Khairy’s MP seat.
He needs a vehicle in this climate. Not a think tank, a political vehicle.
PICK can become what Pemandu was to Najib before. The programme catapults him as a national figure navigating Malaysia out of the Covid-19 era. The potential immense goodwill positions him as an asset in elections, general or party.
He’d be tempted to side-line the states, especially the Pakatan states.
But if nation before self, then for now, he needs to get every friend possible from any side to assist. Even if he has to share the headlines.
Reluctance and local knowledge
Vaccination capacity must be matched by take-up rates.
The US states with low vaccination take-up rates are also the ones with conservative values — Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas. Malaysia may mirror this to a certain degree.
Reticence here may not be limited by religion but a general trust deficit.
The Selangor government has record high engagement for 13 years. State civil servants have come around to a Pakatan administration.
Jom shopping for senior citizens and popular one-off payments (for newborns, newlyweds and undergraduates), along with funeral expenses cover, has brought the state machine, its local councillors, legislative assembly members and parliamentarians into the homes and villages of Selangor residents.
The hundreds of thousands boarding the free buses including foreign workers, extends the state’s social capital. Not to mention an army of party/service centre workers who mastered their zones, two-hundred and eighty-eight to be exact.
In 2008, Selangor started the first effort to legalise tens of thousands of illegal factories; they have literally seen the sausage being made.
Also, religion is a state matter. Efforts to diffuse religious objection would come down to the state religious department, supervised by both the state palace and Shah Alam.
The United Kingdom’s 54 per cent vaccination rate relies on local and minority support. In the second biggest city, Birmingham, Muslim reluctance — it has a huge South Asian population — was met by community engagement. The Al-Abbas Islamic Centre offered itself as a vaccination centre in January, meeting the challenge head-on.
Any similar endeavour here would require leadership by local leaders, not remotely from Putrajaya.
With state support, Selangor vaccination probably would outstrip every other state but the trade-off is to let Pakatan enjoy the plaudits. To present Pakatan as partners in an outstanding vaccination programme.
This would be the same elsewhere — Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor. The urban economic zones are Pakatan zones, and utilising the deep connections with their communities would be critical to maximise vaccination sign-ups.
Malaysians today just want to get through this quickly with the lowest body counts. Most don’t care about the federal-state dynamics. They want who needs to be on it, to be on it. They’d also be less forgiving if politics delay their return to normality or end the lives of friends and family.
It’s time to use all the tools in the shed.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
