LABUAN – The Covid-19 vaccination drive on the duty-free-island here is reaching its peak with 82% of the total adult population having registered under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) via the MySejahtera app.
The federal territory is among the top four states in the country to record the highest percentage of people registered for the vaccination, alongside Putrajaya (100%), Kuala Lumpur (100%) and Selangor (82.34%), while neighbouring Sabah remains the lowest with only 30.88% of the adult population registered as of today.
Labuan Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) chairman Rithuan Ismail said the high percentage of registrations show the people’s awareness towards the importance of immunisation.
“It means we have a broad view of the impact of the vaccination among local folk... the posting of vaccination experiences in various social media platforms is also a way of normalising the vaccination, thus encouraging people to register,” he said.
He said the opening of a new vaccination centre (PPV) at the Labuan Matriculation College utilising the walk-in method (manual registration through people’s representative councils, MPP) has helped expedite the vaccination process, and that this also helped boost the people’s confidence in the vaccination process.
Rithuan said the walk-in vaccination method has also been extended to the existing PPV at Dewan Sri JKR after noon daily for nearby villagers and residents.
“The great thing about the high percentage is that we are able to see the incredibly positive effect of the vaccination exercise, where so many vaccines have been rolled out across the country, and very soon, we will be able to travel, see family members and feel safe,” he said.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who is also PICK coordinating minister, had on June 21 said that the government is studying the feasibility of lifting several restrictions for fully vaccinated individuals, such as allowing them to travel interstate.
Meanwhile, Rithuan said the MPP is holding vaccination campaigns in densely populated zones and distributing vaccination appointment coupons to the people as part of Labuan CITF’s efforts to speed up vaccinations here to achieve its target of herd immunity by the middle of next month.
“We must not deny the local media’s role in assisting us to spread the positive news on vaccination… be it in their official portals or in their personal social media platforms like Facebook.
“Sharing vaccination stories is a way of normalising vaccinations, of being transparent about the experience and encouraging friends to do the same,” Rithuan said.
Labuan has four PPVs at Kompleks Darul Kifayah, Dewan Sri JKR, Labuan Matriculation College and Dewan Blok L Taman Mutiara. – Bernama, June 26, 2021
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