Uggah observes a vaccine recipient receive his jab at Bekenu Community Hall.
MIRI (June 19): The positive response of Bekenu folk to the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme has earned the praise of Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah.
The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee chairman said vaccination is the only way to protect people from the deadly coronavirus, with the government providing the vaccines free of charge.
“I am very pleased people in Bekenu realise the importance of the vaccine. The vaccination centre at this community hall has the capacity for 1,000 doses daily,” he said during his visit to Bekenu Community Hall yesterday to check on the progress of the district’s vaccination programme.
The hall is one of five vaccination centres set up in Bekenu.
Uggah urged elected representatives and community leaders in rural constituencies to continue advising those who are still hesitant to receive the vaccine, in order for Sarawak to achieve its goal of vaccinating 80 per cent of the population by this August.
Daily vaccinations are now given out at community halls, schools and health clinics statewide by teams including mobile ones from the Health Department, he pointed out.
On the registration process, Uggah said folks in the interior should heed the advice of Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg to ‘jab first, register later’, adding they could walk in to any designated vaccination centre to get jabbed.
Meanwhile, the deputy chief minister was scheduled to fly to Bario later yesterday to inspect the vaccination progress there but had to cancel his trip due to bad weather.
Accompanying Uggah on his visit were Assistant Minister of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Datuk Rosey Yunus who is Bekenu assemblywoman, and Sibuti MP Lukanisman Awang Sauni.