Photo taken on April 19 showing vaccination exercise in progress at Sibu Indoor Stadium.
KAPIT (June 4): The Education Ministry (MoE) should allow schools in the rural areas here to be used as Covid-19 vaccination centres, said Kapit District Council Walikota Lating Minggang.
He said he was saddened to learn that the ministry did not agree with using the schools as vaccination centres.
Lating said that given their location, accessibility and facilities, schools were the most suitable locations and they were also a convenient assembly point for the locals to get their vaccine jabs.
As an example, he said at Nanga Antawau in Ulu Baleh, there were four longhouses with over 1,000 residents and hundreds of workers attached to various road construction projects.
“SK Temenggong Koh located between Nanga Antawau and Nanga Sebiro, which is accessible by road and longboat from both areas, is certainly suitable to carry out vaccinations. The school has a proper hall for a vaccination center,” he said.
Laying said fighting Covid-19 is a collective responsibility of all government agencies, local communities and individuals.
He said it is important to speed up Covid-19 vaccination to achieve herd immunity against Covid-19.
“The MoE should help in the facilitation of the vaccination exercise rather than being seen as blocking the way,” said Lating.
“The threat of the pandemic virus is real, and therefore, it is everyone’s responsibility to help in whatever ways they can, to contribute in terms of providing any assistance deemed necessary.”
Lating felt that MoE’s attitude shows why it was important for the state to take over the education portfolio from the federal government.