SIBU: About 20,000 teenagers aged 16 and 17 in Sibu will be administered the Covid-19 vaccine starting next week.
The Sibu Division Disaster Management Committee (DDMC) member, Senator Robert Lau Hui Yew said the vaccination programme would definitely be a relief to parents before the school session started early next month.
According to him, the announcement made by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin on Saturday was what all parents had been waiting for.
“It is good that Sarawak will start the programme first. We are very grateful and relieved. As for now, we have made all necessary preparations and are only waiting for the green light to start.
“Hopefully, the programme will run smoothly in the future and all teenagers will be able to get their jabs,” Lau added during a live stream on his social media platform on Saturday night.
Touching on the progress of the vaccination programme in the Sibu district, he revealed that between Jul 22 to Aug 31, over 63 percent of the population had received two doses of the Covid-19 vaccines while six percent had received one dose of vaccine and another 31 percent had not been vaccinated.
Despite the fact that the immunisation could not stop the Delta Variant from spreading rapidly in the Sibu area, he said it could still reduce the risk of infection.
“Vaccination has proven to save lives and we are very fortunate to have accelerated the vaccination programme before the Delta Variant hit the district.
“Although there are many positive Covid-19 cases, we are grateful because the majority of the cases are low risk, with infected patients only being categorised as Categories1 and 2.
“I hope the public understands the statistics of the cases that we have reported. Do evaluate the cases recorded rather than just simply looking at the numbers,” he said.
In another development, Lau, who is also the chairman of SUPP Bawang Assan Branch, said that the Sibu DDMC would set up a Covid-19 Assessment Centre (CAC) at the Sibu Indoor Stadium.
“Sibu is working to set up the CAC to facilitate the public and currently, the Sibu Resident’s Office and the Sibu Divisional Health Office are planning specifics regarding the manpower and logistics at the CAC,” he stated.
