SIBU, April 5: The homeless in the state will also be included in the Covid-19 vaccination programme to create herd immunity against the disease.
Speaking to reporters after visiting a transit centre for the homeless here today, Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said by including the homeless in the programme, the state wanted to ensure that “no one is left behind”.
She disclosed Resident Offices statewide are registering the homeless for the programme.
“In Sibu, 22 of them have registered for the programme. We have the advantage as we have their profile from previous operations to save them from the street. We know where they usually are and their place of sleep. If they are to come out individually to register for the programme it would be very difficult,” she said.
Based on the ministry’s statistics, a total of 237 homeless were identified from 83 operations in 11 divisions statewide in 2020.
Kuching registered the most with 90 people, followed by Bintulu (43), Sibu (41), Miri (21), Sri Aman (18), Sarikei (9), Limbang (7), while Kapit, Serian, Betong and Mukah have two each.
Answering a question, Fatimah said the homeless would be vaccinated after all frontliners had received the vaccine.
“The Health Department will contact us and we will gather all of them for the mass vaccination. For those without an identity card, we will take them in the group also,” she said. — DayakDaily
