KUCHING: The State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) is setting up a task force to ensure 100 percent of Sarawakians will be receiving the upcoming Covid-19 vaccine.
SDMC chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said the task force will be entrusted to assist the State Health Department to look into the infrastructure readiness and logistics of the state to accommodate the vaccines.
He explained that the task force would also consult the state government on necessary logistic facilities that should be prepared ahead of the vaccine’s arrival in view of the large areas of Sarawak and its interiors.
“We don’t want to be caught unprepared when the vaccine arrives. That’s why the task force was set up.
“They were asked to come up with a report within a month to assess the infrastructure in Sarawak so that when the vaccine arrives, it will seamlessly reach all corners of the state,” he explained.
Uggah said another reason for infrastructure readiness was to accommodate the vaccine manufactured by Pfizer which needed to be stored in cold temperatures.
On the task force, he said it will be led by former state health directors Prof Datuk Dr Andrew Kiyu and Dr Jamilah Hashim alongside state health director Dr Chin Zin Hing and team.
On another note, Uggah mentioned that the committee’s policy decisions are made based on scientific guidance.
He said SDMC cannot commit to any decision for a long period of time and its policies are subject to change according to the Covid-19 situation in the state.
“Until now, we have been very sensitive to any changes whether the number is going up or down.
“We are also (making policies) based on new scientific findings,” he explained.
