GEORGE TOWN – With some one million people in Penang registered to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, the island state is now in full gear to move into its next phase of reaching out to those living in rural areas.
“This shall be done with the deployment of mobile vaccination units (MVUs) which makes the vaccination process easier and faster,” Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow told state government monthly bulletin and online site Buletin Mutiara after visiting the Lam Wah Ee Hospital and Loh Guan Lye Specialists Hospital.
Both private hospitals have begun their vaccination drive.
“We must reach out to the unvaccinated stragglers in overlooked neighbourhoods and plug the gap in this nationwide effort to combat Covid-19.”
He also said the MVUs, if successful, would reach out to the people living in low-cost and low-medium-cost residential areas as well as those in the People’s Housing Project (PPR).
“The MVUs will be very important. The state will have to conduct a thorough study to identify the communities which are difficult to reach and who require assistance,” Chow said.
Besides, more venues can also be converted into vaccination centres, he added.
Penang is expected to achieve herd immunity by October this year however efforts to get more people to register for the vaccine needs to be stepped up. – The Vibes, June 18, 2021
