KUCHING: Sarawak should vaccinate as many Sarawakians as possible, including those below 12 years old.
In saying this, Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) advisor Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian said that those in that age group was equivalent to 20 percent of the state’s population.
“The Lancet medical journal in its publication stated that the Sinovac vaccine is safe for those above three years old as Delta variant has changed the concept of 70 to 80 percent herd immunity globally,” he said in a Facebook post on Saturday (Sept 4).
Meanwhile, the announcement by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin that the vaccination for teens under 18 in Sarawak would start this week was good news to the teenagers.
With that, Dr Sim expressed his gratitude to Khairy for supporting the vaccination of teens aged 12 to 17 years old under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK).
“Unforeseen political changes in Kuala Lumpur had delayed the rolling out for more than two weeks.
“But, once again, you can be assured of the united efforts of the people of Sarawak and all the federal and state agencies coming together, like in our vaccine roll-out for adults above 18 years old in June this year with more than one million doses in 18 days,”
Dr Sim added that those aged 12 to 18 years old accounted for 10 percent of the state’s total population.
