Sabah hopes to achieve herd immunity by year-end

 

Sabah is hoping to achieve 80 percent herd immunity by the end of this year to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the state.

Chief Minister Hajiji Noor said various efforts and strategies were being implemented to increase the vaccination rate in the state to ensure that 2.9 million Sabahans receive the vaccine.

“So far, a total of 326,556 individuals including military personnel have received their first dose of the vaccine shots in the first and second phase of the immunisation programme,” he said at the virtual launching of the Sabah’s Zero Covid-19 Campaign at the State Administrative Centre today.

Health Minister Dr Adham Baba, state Local Government and Housing Minister Masidi Manjun, state Community Development and People’s Wellbeing Minister Shahelmy Yahya and Sabah Health director Dr Christina Rundi were also present.

Hajiji was also confident that the state could achieve the target to inoculate 30,000 people daily starting July with the opening of more vaccination centres, in addition to assistance from the private sector and the Health Department’s mobile programme in the rural areas.

Currently, a total of 72 health facilities and 23 public vaccination centres were operating throughout the state, he said.

The chief minister explained that the immunisation programme in the state also focused on the manufacturing sector through the Public-Private Partnership Covid-19 Industry Immunisation Programme (Pikas) which will be conducted at the Sabah International Convention Centre.

“The Pikas programme will begin in July which targets to inoculate 1,500 workers daily,” he said.

On the Zero Covid-19 Campaign, Hajiji said it was a joint initiative between the state government and the Health Ministry, aimed at creating a new benchmark for the people in the state and to achieve zero cases daily.

“We cannot stop the pandemic if we presume that we have won each time the government eases a level of the movement control,” he said.

- Bernama