By Ling Hui
KUCHING, July 9: Samarahan Division has topped the Covid-19 vaccination rate in Sarawak with 83.6 per cent of its 142,006 eligible population already jabbed with their first dose of the vaccine as of yesterday (July 8).
State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said 34,849 or 24.5 per cent of Samarahan Division’s adult population have completed the double-dose vaccination process.
Close behind Samarahan was Bintulu Division, with 83.6 per cent of its 201,442 eligible population inoculated with first doses and 21.7 per cent with second doses.
Placing third, Betong recorded 66.7 per cent of its 96,879 eligible population vaccinated with Dose 1 and 24.0 per cent vaccinated with Dose 2.
The next six divisions that registered over 60 per cent of first-dose vaccination were Sarikei (Dose 1-66.4%, Dose 2-31.0%); Miri (Dose 1-66.0%, Dose 2-20.9%); Limbang (Dose 1-63.9%, Dose 2-27.2%); Serian (Dose 1-63.7%, Dose 2-21.4%); Sri Aman (Dose 1-63.1%, Dose 2-24.3%); and Sibu (Dose 1-62.7%, Dose 2-20.3%).
Kuching (Dose 1-58.6%, Dose 2-17.5%), Mukah (Dose 1-58.3%, Dose 2-22.5%) and Kapit (Dose 1-52.6%, Dose 2-22.9%) were the remaining three divisions with over 50 per cent of first-dose vaccination.
For the whole of Sarawak where it was estimated to have an adult population of 2.2 million who were eligible for the vaccine, Uggah said the vaccination rate stood at 63.8 per cent for Dose 1 and 21.4 per cent for Dose 2 administered.
Yesterday alone, he said Sarawak managed to break the record and delivered altogether 77,343 doses, including 29,206 first doses and 48,137 second doses.
He expressed his utmost gratitude to all frontliners and volunteers who have been toiling away working multiple shifts a day for Sarawak’s vaccination programmes.
“Those hard work are being appreciated and have enabled us to achieve the target, the number we had on July 8, up to over 77,000 doses (a day).
“I’m confident, soon we will be able to hit 80,000 (doses per day),” he said during a press conference on Covid-19 update at the old State Legislative Assembly (DUN) Complex here today.
Uggah, who is also Deputy Chief Minister, was confident that Sarawak’s goal to reach 80 per cent immunity by the end of August can be achieved with the current vaccination pace throughout the State.
He also commended the willingness of all Sarawakians to get vaccinated that there has been no issue with vaccine hesitancy so far.
“We have no issue of people refusing to be vaccinated. All are willing and some even arrive earlier (than their appointed times) at the vaccination centres.
“Due to the support of these people that we have succeeded in achieving what we have achieved today,” said Uggah. — DayakDaily
