People from the Orang Asli community wait to receive their Covid-19 jab in Jenjarom July 29, 2021. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa
PUTRAJAYA, Sept 13 — About 56.1 per cent or 80,884 of the 144,180 Orang Asli in the country who are eligible for vaccination against Covid-19 have received the vaccine injections, said Rural Development Deputy Minister, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Mohamad.
He said the number of them having received the first, both doses of the vaccine or the single-dose CanSino vaccine had reached 128,548 yesterday.
“Three states, namely, Terengganu, Kelantan and Johor have recorded the lowest vaccination rates among the Orang Asli with the estimated number of those who have not received the vaccine jabs at 16,127.
“For the Orang Asli in these three states, the Ministry of Health (MOH) will be using the one-dose CanSino vaccine in order to increase their vaccination rates as their villages are mostly located in the interior areas,” he said in a statement today.
Abdul Rahman said the Rural Development Ministry through the Department of Orang Asli Development (JKOA) was always collaborating with the MOH, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) to speed up the vaccination exercise for the Orang Asli.
“Vaccination priority is given to the Orang Asli through the outreach programme, a commitment by the ministry and Jakoa in view of them mainly living in the interior areas and having logistical and transportation problems,” he added.
He also said that optimum use of the government’s assets such as helicopters and boats to the interior areas could increase the vaccination rate of the Orang Asli community. — Bernama