KOTA KINABALU – Sabah PKR chief Datuk Christina Liew has urged state health authorities to probe into the alleged disposal of unused Covid-19 vaccines.
The Tawau MP was commenting on talks about vaccines being thrown away after those who were scheduled for the inoculation failed to turn up.
“Sabah is in dire need of vaccination against the pandemic,” she said. “If the vaccine disposal story is by any chance found to be true, further investigation and certainly some form of discipline should be in order to prevent a recurrence.
“Ideally, if some appointment slots are not taken up on a particular day due to valid reasons, then others who have registered and are on the waiting list should be asked to come for their inoculation so that the vaccines are not wasted.”
A Sabah health expert said there are three likely reasons why vaccines are discarded. It could mean that either there are excess vaccines when recipients do not show up for their jab; the vaccine has expired; or the cold chain of the vaccines has been broken.
In terms of Covid-19 registration, Sabah remains the lowest. As of May 18, the number of registered recipients stands at around 16.81%, or 429,979 people.
The same goes for the number of those vaccinated which is currently the lowest at 3.21% or 94,179 people.
The Health Ministry aims to vaccinate at least 80% of the state’s population by early 2022.
Meantime, Liew – who is also a former Sabah deputy chief minister – said residents who had registered for their vaccination in February were still awaiting their appointment dates.
The deployment and administering of the vaccines began in February.
“It was only this month (May) that they were notified of their appointment date. That is a long wait indeed. I think their frustration is understandable,” she said.
Last month, National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had said that Malaysia was still short of vaccine supply.
This was due to infrequent delivery from manufacturers hence, causing a slow rate of vaccination.
The vaccine supply is expected to increase in June and July. – The Vibes, May 19, 2021
