Hybrid approach, jab first, registration later for rural community
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg
KUCHING: The Sarawak government is going all out to ensure that all eligible Sarawakians, especially those in the rural areas, get the Covid-19 vaccine.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said those in the rural areas will be allowed to walk-in to receive the Covid-19 vaccine although their names are not registered yet.
He said that the state has received the go-ahead from Putrajaya for what he called the ‘hybrid method’ which entails administering the vaccine first followed by registration as the state wants to expedite the vaccination process, particularly in the rural areas.
“For the rural areas, if their names are not on the list but they have gone to the vaccination centre, they will be given the vaccine. After that their details will be registered.
“They are those who might come from the interior areas, so the vaccine is given to them right away.
“As such, they do not have to go back-and-forth and this will be convenient to them,” he said after visiting the opt-in AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccination programme at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here today (June 7).
Besides the vaccination registration done via MySejahera application or manually with the District Office, the state had to be proactive to ensure the rural community are not left out from receiving the vaccine, Abang Johari said.
“Therefore, I have requested all elected representatives to assist in getting their constituents to be vaccinated so that we can achieve the target to vaccinate 70 percent of the population by this August,” he said.
In the meantime, Abang Johari said that 380,000 Sinovac vaccine doses will arrive in Kuching on June 9, while out of the total, 89,160 doses will be send to Miri on June 10.
“We are targeting to receive 1 million doses of vaccine by this month,” he said.
The chief minister also said from this month until July, some two million doses of Pfizer vaccines are also expected to arrive.
Also present were Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, and Minister of Local Government and Housing Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian.
