KUALA LUMPUR – The government should stop its monopoly on the import of Covid-19 vaccines, so that the immunisation drive is expedited, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The former prime minister said Putrajaya should allow registered pharmaceutical companies to import jabs and let them carry out vaccination.
“There are responsible companies that will not cheat. Records should be kept, of course. The important thing is to increase by many times the rate of vaccination,” he said in a post on his blog, chedet.cc.
“The need to vaccinate is urgent. Forget politics. You are killing people by being dilatory. You will not be popular for that.”
With daily coronavirus infections having hit 9,000, he said, the country’s hospitals will soon run out of beds and medical equipment.
People are being sent home, and some of them have died. More will die. No matter how you speed up vaccination, the number of new cases will take time to diminish.
“The reason for easy infection is due to the people not observing social distancing. This is especially so when working, when going to work, when returning, and in workers’ buses. There is no one ensuring that the people stay far apart.”
On the Sputnik V vaccine from Russia, Dr Mahathir asked the government why the jab is not included in the national immunisation programme, adding that Germany has approved it, and he believes reputable medical journals have given the nod to it, too.
“The Russians have offered six million doses. They have been told to answer 400 questions. We want to know if the monkeys have been saved. We will wait for the 400 answers. A few hundred people may die. But that is okay.”
The Langkawi MP said the government has the power to seize property under the state of emergency in order to speed up the vaccination campaign.
“There are properties to be seized for use as vaccination centres. In Langkawi, we have the huge Lima exhibition centre and several hotels that are empty. Seize them and add more vaccine centres.
“Malaysia has more public halls than any country in the world. Also, we have more hospitals, public and private, where there is space to convert into temporary vaccination centres.” – The Vibes, May 31, 2021
.jpg)
