More than enough Covid-19 jabs by June if deliveries on time: KJ

KUALA LUMPUR – If all goes well, Malaysia can expect more than enough Covid-19 vaccines by June.

This is provided the delivery of vaccines procured by the government is according to schedule.

Khairy Jamaluddin, the coordinating minister for the national immunisation programme, said based on the scheduled delivery dates, supply is projected to be more than sufficient to inoculate 80% of Malaysia’s population by October.

“We project supply in excess of demand (from) June onwards. This will mean faster vaccination rates,” he tweeted today.

This is the projection for Malaysia’s cumulative vaccine deliveries. We project supply in excess of demand June onwards. This will mean faster vaccination rates. Current deliveries still low. Largely due to the stark vaccine inequity of advanced countries condemned by WHO and UN. pic.twitter.com/kpnIP2XH3m

— Khairy Jamaluddin ??? (@Khairykj) April 13, 2021

Sharing a graph prepared by the Special Committee on Ensuring Access to Covid-19 Vaccine Supply, Khairy said it is almost certain that the country’s vaccination drive will be done by year-end.

If this does happen, the target will be achieved months ahead of the initial schedule.

The government previously said it expected to have 80% of Malaysians inoculated against the coronavirus by next February.  

The vaccination programme is currently in Phase 1, which is for frontliners.

Phase 2, to be rolled out on April 19, is targeted at high-risk groups, while Phase 3 will cover the rest of the population.

At present, more than 609,000 Malaysians have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and 409,784 have gotten both doses.

To date, 8.6 million individuals have registered for vaccination, or 35.5% of the population aged 18 and above. – The Vibes, April 13, 2021