KUCHING: Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing believes that Sarawak can achieve 80 percent herd immunity by August this year if the single-dose Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by China’s CanSino Biologics is approved by Putrajaya for Sarawak’s use.
Looking at the state’s vast area, the CanSino vaccine was perfect for the interior population once it was approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food Drug Administration (FDA), he said.
“Sarawak’s request for CanSino vaccine hopefully, by then, will be kindly considered,” he said on Saturday (June 19).
He added that if the CanSino vaccine was approved by Putrajaya for Sarawak’s use and the number of required vaccines reached Sarawak, the state might be able to achieve 80 percent herd immunity by August 21.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah on Tuesday (June 15) announced that the Drug Control Authority (DCA) had given conditional approval for the two single-dose Covid-19 vaccines – CanSino vaccine and the United State’s Johnson & Johnson vaccine — for use in view of the current Covid-19 situation.
He said the two vaccines were given Emergency Use Listing (EUL) by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Meanwhile, on the same day, Deputy Chief Minister and Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said that CanSino, as a single dose vaccine, fitted in very well with the state’s rural scenario.
“SDMC has forwarded its request to the federal government for suitable allocation of the vaccine to the state as soon as the supply is available to the country.
“This will certainly expedite the state target to complete its vaccination programme rollout by August this year,” said Uggah.
