KUNAK – A total of 5,670 residents of Kunak town near Tawau, Sabah received their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine through the walk-in vaccination programme implemented by the Kunak District Health Office from June 8 until yesterday.
Kunak District Health Office official Dr Izaidi Salman Yazid said the number almost reached the target of vaccinating 6,000 out of 12,142 residents in the area.
“We received a positive response from the residents. Although on the first day of the programme, 200 individuals turned up, the number increased in the following days.
“Yesterday, a total of 804 residents came to receive their vaccine shots,” he told Bernama here today.
Dr Izaidi said almost 80% of the residents who turned up for their vaccination at the programme held at Dewan Masyarakat Sri Kunak did not register with MySejahtera.
At the same time, he said the Kunak District Health Office also planned to conduct a vaccination programme for residents in rural areas who could not go to vaccination centres (PPV) due to transportation problems.
“We have identified several halls to be used as temporary PPVs, including in Mukim Madai, Mukim Pangi as well as in the Tawau and Semporna areas,” he said.
Meanwhile, Maimunah Akih, 60, who is paralysed from the waist down, confining to a wheelchair was not an obstacle for her to come to the hall and get vaccinated.
Maimunah said as an individual that has been categorised under high-risk groups, she was eager to receive the vaccine to protect her from the Covid-19 virus.
“My daughter-in-law told me that through this programme, we can get the vaccine without having to register through the MySejahtera application... I believe that the vaccine can help reduce the risk of infection,” she said when met by Bernama.
For Mohd Nazri Rashid, 32, the Kunak District Health Office’s initiative was a commendable effort that could help expedite the vaccination process and address the registration issue faced by the residents.
“It (the walk-in vaccination programme) is easier for us. The internet reception at my house is very poor. Today’s programme is such a good initiative,” said Nazri, who came with his wife and parents. – Bernama, June 18, 2021
