We risked our lives and were pained to see so many deaths every day. It is a relief that we have a vaccine against coronavirus now.
– Biji Tomy, a nurse in Delhi
National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin recently became the first recipient of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine. He received his first dose at Rembau Hospital in Rembau, Negeri Sembilan.
This marked a significant milestone in Malaysia’s Covid-19 vaccination programme; it was the first time the Chinese-produced Covid-19 vaccine was used in the country.
That day, on March 18, 10 Negeri Sembilan-based frontliners also received their first dose of the Sinovac vaccine.
Until then, only Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine had been used in the country’s Covid-19 vaccination programme. The Pfizer vaccine has been developed by an American corporation called Pfizer in New York and BioTech, a German company.
On March 18, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin also received his second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in Putrajaya to complete his Covid-19 vaccination process.
On March 19, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg received his second dose of the Pfizer -BioNTech vaccine at the Indoor Stadium in Kuching.
At this point in time, the second dose of vaccine is deemed as the final dose to complete the Covid-19 vaccination process. But already, some foreign countries are talking of more doses if the pandemic persists in the future.
In Sarawak, 2,019,431 Sarawakians are eligible for the free Covid-19 vaccinations, as well as some 200,000 non-Sarawakian citizens; they are expected to cover 80 percent of the state’s population in order to achieve herd immunity.
As of March 10, Sarawak has inoculated about one percent of its residents and administered 28,194 first doses, the most in the country.
Thousands more in the state have registered for the Covid-19 vaccination through the MySejahtera application or at the nearest hospital, health clinic or district office.
The vaccination exercise, which began at the end of February, will be done in three phases.
Although the Prime Minister has assured the federal government would supply all the vaccines needed by eligible Sarawakians, Abang Johari has instructed a team, led by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) public health expert Prof Datuk Dr Andrew Kiyu Dawie, to find ways to purchase the vaccines.
The state wants to step up its immunisation programme and supplement what was currently provided by the federal government.
I wonder which Covid-19 vaccines the state will buy —Pfizer-BioNTech, Sinovac or other types from other countries or a mixture of all these?
Can Sarawakians choose the vaccines they prefer? Or do we rely on the Ministry of Health to choose the vaccine they deem fit for our particular health condition?
Although many of us are optimistic that the vaccine roll-out will reduce Covid-19 cases in the state, country and the world, at this point in time, I can’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.
Lately, Covid-19 cases in the state have worsened. On Friday, Sarawak recorded 407 positive cases and one death, against 303 cases and one death the previous day.
Friday’s figures brought the total number of positive cases in the state to 13,820 and the death toll to 96.
The federal government recently raised the compound on the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for violators from RM1,000 to RM10,000 in a bid to arrest the sharp rise in Covid-19 cases nationwide.
Greatly worried by the spike in Covid-19 cases, State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas has repeatedly implored all to continue observing the standard operating procedures (SOPs) such as wearing face masks and avoiding crowded places.
He pointed out that the public should follow the SOPs not because they feared the fine or compound but rather because they wanted to be healthy, wanted their families to be healthy and they wanted all Sarawakians to be healthy.
Sarawak, he said, had been successful in flattening the curve in the first, second and third waves of the Covid-19 pandemic because of everyone’s cooperation.
He pleaded with everyone to help flatten the curve in the current fourth wave of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, China has shocked the world by resuming visa processing for foreigners from dozens of countries but only if they have been inoculated against the virus with a Chinese-made vaccine.
The move has sparked questions about the motives behind the demand, given that China’s vaccines are not approved in many countries. China has said it will not accept foreign vaccines made elsewhere, including those approved by the World Health Organisation.
I wonder whether other countries will come up with similar demands. Will USA insist only on Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine for foreigners? What about the United Kingdom and Japan and our nearest neighbours, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and Indonesia?
Will that mean travellers need to be vaccinated with different Covid-19 vaccines before being allowed to visit different countries? Healthwise, is that good for the human body?
I am anxiously awaiting the reactions from other countries because I’d like to travel again once it is deemed safe to do so again. What about you?
