MIRI – Do not deprive Sarawakians the choice to sign up for the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, said Selangau MP Baru Bian as he slams state leaders for rejecting Putrajaya’s offer.
He also urged Sarawak to take urgent steps to secure China’s CanSino single-shot vaccines, as well as other vaccine brands.
“The federal government has twice offered the AstraZeneca vaccine to Sarawak; why not accept it and let the people take the jabs if they choose to?
“Sarawakians are capable of weighing the pros and cons and making their own decisions. If they want the AstraZeneca vaccine when it’s freely and readily available, and they feel that the benefits far outweigh the risks, they should be allowed to opt in,” he said in a statement.
He added that there are many Sarawakians who are ready for the AstraZeneca jab as the state government has yet to bring the case numbers under control.
He said the state Disaster Management Committee should act faster to acquire stocks of vaccines of all brands, while agreeing with it on the need to acquire CanSino jabs.
The single-dose vaccine will definitely be useful in vaccinating rural folk who cannot travel often, he added.
More netizens have questioned the state’s decision on the AstraZeneca jabs.
“The state government should not have rejected the AstraZeneca. It may have turned out to be a bad decision to reject the (vaccine) offered for free by the federal government.
“Every type of vaccine has its risks, but the (vaccine) will be useful for those who want it,” netizen David Bakit said yesterday.
Another local named Sabani Yunus added that Sarawak should have just taken the offer.
“Should have just taken them since Khairy gave it to us. Stock it in Sarawak and if there is not enough of Pfizer-BioNTech and Sinovac, offer Sarawakians the option of AstraZeneca.”
Sarawak leaders had last week rejected the AstraZeneca offer when state Disaster Management Committee chairman Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas met Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin in Putrajaya.
A Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) branch chief had said Sarawakians should have been given freedom of choice.
Bruce Chai, PSB chief of the Pujut branch here, felt that if the AstraZeneca vaccine was readily available, the Sarawak authorities should have accepted the doses and let the people decide if they want it.
“I would personally sign up for the AstraZeneca vaccine. The Sarawak government should not have rejected the offer,” he said in a statement.
Chai, who is also former Miri city councillor, felt that the AstraZeneca jabs would have been an advantage to Sarawak in the event the state cannot secure enough doses of other Covid-19 vaccines.
“The benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the risk. For those healthy and willing to accept it, there should be freedom of choice.”
Chai is touted as the proposed PSB candidate for the Pujut state constituency in the next 12th state polls. PSB is an independent opposition party in Sarawak.
Its president is Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh, former state finance minister. PSB has six seats in the Sarawak assembly, whose terms will expire on June 7. – The Vibes, May 5, 2021
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