KOTA KINABALU – Two Sabah assemblymen have criticised the way health authorities here are promoting walk-in vaccinations in the state.
Tg Papat assemblyman Datuk Frankie Poon said walk-in vaccinations should be opened not only to those who have not registered via MySejahtera, but also to those presently waiting for their appointments.
“The current walk-in avenue at Universiti Malaysia Sabah is meant for those without MySejahtera appointments.
“I had proposed walk-ins for the others simply because there are many who want to be vaccinated but have yet to get appointment dates. I feel that such a move will help increase and accelerate the vaccination rate.
“On the other hand, it could prevent the public from jumping the queue,” he said, in view of the huge backlog of people still unvaccinated in spite of having registered via MySejahtera.
When asked about crowd control and other factors, Poon said such issues should be mitigated by the authorities in an effort to streamline the vaccination drive better.
“Right now, I don’t know how they operate. But the authorities should be more open so everyone knows the way to go about the matter.
“It saves a lot of time and energy for those wanting to be vaccinated, as well as reduces the risk of Covid-19 infections if more are getting vaccinated,” he said.
Unlike in Peninsular Malaysia, it is learnt, walk-in vaccination procedures are not being openly promoted, but offered via WhatsApp.
A health worker based here, who spoke on condition of anonymity, admitted to the approach, saying that the decision is related to the availability of vaccines in the state and is also to curb overcrowding at vaccination centres.
However, the worker pointed out that the walk-in offers via WhatsApp often result in the messages going viral, causing overcrowding to occur frequently at vaccination centres.
On July 25, overcrowding happened at Dewan Sri Putatan near here after a walk-in vaccination offer was shared on WhatsApp the day before.
The Vibes had learnt that 400 vaccine doses were offered in the morning and only those with MySejahtera appointments were allowed access to the vaccines.
Following the incident, health authorities denied that such an offer was made when asked by The Vibes.
Panginatan assemblyman and Sabah Star leader Datuk Abidin Madingkir who also called for walk-ins to be allowed also shared the same sentiment, saying the procedure should be done openly but cautiously.
“Use a single-dose vaccine like CanSino, which Sabah is getting. Everyone should be vaccinated to break the chain of infections.
“Walk-in vaccinations will simplify the procedures and do away with bureaucracy.
“It will also enable those people living in rural areas to organise themselves and include their families for vaccination at the same time,” he added.
Both leaders called for the state government to open up walk-in vaccination centres in Ranau and Sandakan, where their constituents are, saying such procedures were never offered there.
As of August 4, Sabah recorded the lowest in terms of vaccinated individuals in the country.
According to the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force, the state saw a total of 976,109 individuals receive their first dose while 424,732 received both doses of the vaccine. – The Vibes, August 6, 2021
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