KUCHING: Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah agreed with Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein’s suggestion that normal procedures must be changed to speed up the vaccination process.
He said many people were waiting to be vaccinated but to call them for the jabs was too time-consuming and bureaucratic.
“Many have been waiting to be called through the MySejahtera app for weeks and months and still they have yet to be called, especially in Sarawak where many areas do not have good digital networks.
“The Health Department needs to look at better and faster methods so that vaccinations can be carried out quickly and involve more people,” he said when contacted yesterday (June 13).
Abdul Karim, a member of the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC), added that the situation might be why Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said those in rural areas should be given the vaccines first before their details were taken.
Meanwhile, Hishammuddin was reported by Free Malaysia Today (FMT) as saying that currently Malaysia only approved the use of three vaccines while other countries had approved the use of other types of vaccines.
“Even the World Health Organisation (WHO) has listed Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Sinopharm for worldwide emergency use. Surely, they can’t all be wrong?
“I understand the relevant authorities’ need for the vaccines to undergo the necessary due diligence, but we cannot follow normal procedures under abnormal circumstances,” he was quoted as saying in the online news portal.
Hishammuddin added that in the face of the abnormal situation currently, normal procedures could no longer be used. Instead, government agencies had to move in line with international bodies in issuing emergency approval quickly.
