A health worker prepares a dose of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. — Bernama FILE photo
KUCHING (May 27): A total of 152,800 slots were taken up in Sarawak during the second round of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine opt-in programme, said Khairy Jamaluddin.
“Sarawak was allocated 152,800 slots, and from the bookings, 70 per cent were aged below 60 and the rest above 60 years old,” he said during a press conference held on Zoom today.
The Coordinating Minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme said in the Sarawak adult population, 84 per cent are under 60, and 16 per cent are above 60.
The second round of AZ opt-in programme offers a total of 1,240,000 doses, which is opened for those residing in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, Johor and Sarawak.
In Sarawak, it was offered to people in Kuching and Miri, and the doses were first offered to the elderly, aged 60 and above, from May 23 to 25, and the remaining for those below 60 years old yesterday.
Of that figure, 275,208 were snapped up by the elderly aged 60 and above, while 956,609 doses were taken up by the younger folks aged 18 and above yesterday.
He said the overwhelming response with all the available slots taken up in under 90 minutes showed the public’s acceptance of the vaccine.
Therefore, he said the AZ Covid-19 vaccine will not be offered as opt-in anymore, but will be reincorporated into the mainstream vaccination on the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK).
“As such, the technically issues faced by those who registered for the vaccine yesterday will not happen again,” he added.
Meanwhile, Khairy said the postponement of the Covid-19 vaccination at several government facilities here tomorrow was due to a delay on the part of vaccine supplier Pharmaniaga.
He said the delay was caused by the lot release inspection which resulted in the vaccine not being able to reach Sarawak in time for tomorrow’s vaccination.
“I was very unhappy about that because we were assured that all planned deliveries take into account the time necessary for the lot release inspection by National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Division (NPRA),” he added.
Acting Sarawak Health Director Dr Rosemawati Ariffin today confirmed that Covid-19 vaccination programme scheduled on May 28 at the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) has been postponed due to a delay in the delivery of the vaccines.
Similarly, appointments for vaccinations on May 28 for those in Sibu, Kanowit and Selangau Districts, had also been postponed and rescheduled to May 30.
However, the Covid-19 immunisation appointments for those on May 29 remain unchanged.
For Sibu, the vaccination centre (PPV) is the Sibu Indoor Stadium; while for Kanowit, it is Kanowit District Office Hall and in Selangau, the Selangau District Multipurpose Hall.