KOTA KINABALU – Sabah DAP has raised a red flag over the vaccination rate in the state after finding out it remains the slowest in inoculating its population.
Citing statistics provided by Selangor health, women and family empowerment exco Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud and released by healthcare news portal Code Blue, Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin said Sabah would only be getting 675,032 doses in July.
This allows only 17.27 out of every 100 people in the population to be vaccinated.
He also questioned the reason for the reduced amount of jabs despite being assured by state Covid-19 spokesman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun that the state would be getting 729,000 doses this month.
“The (vaccination) rate is certainly the lowest in the country by total population.
“Other than that, I can’t help but suspect that Sabah is being sidelined when comparing (its jab delivery) with the planned vaccine delivery for Sarawak.
“Even if Sarawak is going to have an election, it does not give any justification for it to receive one of the lowest (number) of vaccines.
“The main consideration should be the safety and vulnerability of the people.
“It is unfair to leave Sabahans vulnerable without vaccines even if we already had our election (last year),” he said.
In contrast, Sarawak will be receiving 2,389,582 doses, allowing 84.84 out of every 100 people to be vaccinated from the total population.
Chan said the current number of doses left in Sabah would only last three days if it wanted to inoculate 30,000 people a day – a goal stated by state Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor.
Under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, Sabah must vaccinate 2.9 million people by year end, or by early 2022 at latest.
“This seems to suggest that the figure in July alone will go further beyond all of the past months combined,” he said.
Chan also said Sabah should be given priority for the vaccines as the state has recorded two cases of the Delta variant of concern via the Ocean Blue cluster involving navy personnel.
“It is even more crucial then for more vaccines to be delivered to Sabah for immediate use.
“The Sabah government has to buck up and ensure the continuous and speedy supply of vaccines and ensure there are no more postponements of MySejahtera appointments.
“The best way to ensure this is to source its own additional vaccine supply as a supplement or even as security in the event of a delay,” he said. – The Vibes, July 2, 2021
