KOTA KINABALU – A former Sabah minister has lambasted the way the Covid-19 inoculation programme is being carried out in the state, saying unpublicised walk-in procedures have caused overcrowding at some vaccination centres.
Former state agriculture and food industries minister Datuk Junz Wong said he has received numerous complaints on congestion, vaccine shortage, red tape, and long waits to get jabbed.
“There are more than 150 centres in Sabah. More than 10 are in and around the Kota Kinabalu area. Most people are aware of centres like the one at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) or Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
“But how many people are aware that there are also centres in Putatan or Bukit Padang?
“When residents from Putatan, KK (Kota Kinabalu), Sepanggar, Luyang and Kepayan all rush to a specific centre like SICC, a sudden mass walk-in happens.”
Wong, who is also Warisan vice-president and Tg Aru assemblyman, said this led to crowds at SICC, videos and photos of which have been widely shared.
“How can more than 5,000 people squeeze into a particular centre when only 2,000 vaccines are available for that day?”
ini video situasi pagi ni di pusat vaksinasi kompleks sukan keningau.#COVID19 #VaksinasiCovid19 pic.twitter.com/XQRUXpxHOr
— keningau_twt (@keningau_twt) August 8, 2021
The Vibes has reported on several instances of overcrowding due to the walk-in procedures in Sabah.
On Sunday, the Keningau sports complex experienced overcrowding as vaccinations were carried out in the interior district.
Wong said instances of centres running out of vaccines and some being able to administer only up to 200 doses have also been reported.
The situation has led to a flurry of social media messages highlighting the problem.
“You see what has happened? Some say walk-in here, some say walk-in there. Some say here is overcrowded, some say no one’s there. Some say here does not have enough vaccines, some say there has too many vaccines,” said Wong.
He said the situation arose due to a lack of coordination and poor communication among the agencies involved, as their scopes of work overlapped.
This has happened only in Sabah, and not at the federal level, as the processes carried out in the peninsula are more “clear-cut”, he said. – The Vibes, August 11, 2021
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