KUCHING, Sept 5: Malaysia’s Covid-19 vaccination rollout for teenagers aged 12 to 17 will commence in Sarawak next week, says Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
He said Sarawak is the first in line for this initiative because the State has vaccinated over 80 per cent of its adult population.
According to data from the Special Committee on Ensuring Access to Covid-19 Vaccine Supply (JKJAV), as of Sept 4, 87.5 per cent of the adult population in Sarawak has completed their second doses while 90.8 per cent had their first dose.
In a special interview yesterday (Sept 4), Khairy said immunising as many teenagers as possible in 100 days was one of over 20 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) outlined for the Health Ministry under his administration.
“Within 100 days, we will start vaccinating teenagers aged 12 to 17. Our target number of recipients will be announced based on the supply of vaccines, but we will give vaccines to this group for sure.
“It will start next week in Sarawak because they have reached the threshold value of 80 per cent. My hope is that in 100 days, as many teenagers as possible will be able to receive their vaccines so that by the beginning of the school year, our teenagers will have completed their vaccinations,” he said.
The government has given the green light for the usage of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for those aged 12 to 17.
On his ministry’s overall KPIs, Khairy said they will revolve around efforts to address the Covid-19 pandemic threat and to ensure the best possible preparation and transition towards the targets.
Meanwhile, he also gave assurance that other non-Covid-19 health matters will not be abandoned. — Dayakdaily
