KUCHING: The state government will provide logistical assistance to facilitate the implementation of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme for Kids (PICKids) in the rural areas.
As rural schools are usually far away, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said logistics could include the use of helicopters as well as river and land vehicles to transport medical personnel and vaccines.
“We work together with the Health Ministry (MOH) and the State Education Department (JPNS) to go to the schools,” he said.
He said if schools were not in session, other methods would be used such as those previously used when vaccinating rural adults.
“The approach is similar except now we can go to the schools so it is a bit easier,” he said at a press conference during his visit to Kota Sentosa Health Clinic on Saturday (Feb 12) to check on the implementation of PICKids there.
Abang Johari also assured that the supply of vaccines was sufficient.
Sharing Sarawak vaccination statistics, he said that as of Feb 10, in Sarawak, 1,876,435 adults or 91.9 per cent of those aged 18 years and above had received their second doses of vaccine.
“Regarding the second dose for those between 12 and 17 years of age, we have achieved 88.7 per cent coverage or 260,028 people,” he said, adding that this was a total of 75.9 per cent of second dose coverage for the entire population of Sarawak.
“We have achieved good response from our people. For the booster dose, we have achieved about 84 per cent coverage of those eligible,” he said.
He said although the Omicron COVID-19 variant was not as severe according to studies, the number of cases should still be curbed so that the situation would not affect everyone’s daily life too much.
“One way to do this is we must have strong resistence. For those who have not received their booster dose, I advise them to get it. I have also already received the booster dose,” he said.
Abang Johari urged all parties to work together in a united effort to curb COVID-19.
