Two opposition lawmakers have set up mobile vaccination initiatives to expedite efforts to inoculate constituents with mobility problems against Covid-19.
The move by Anthony Loke, who represents the Chennah state constituency and Rasah Parliamentary constituency in Negeri Sembilan, and Howard Lee who represents the Pasir Pinji state constituency in Perak, will provide more vaccine access to those in their areas.
When contacted, Lee said his "Pinji Kita" programme will be able to administer 400 doses a day and focus on those with mobility or accessibility issues.
The digital divide and poverty, said Lee, has ostracised many vulnerable people from receiving the vaccine. Therefore, the initiative also serves as an outreach effort, he added.
"We now know that the vaccination process has a degree of digital exclusivity," he said.
According to the Health Ministry, Perak has the fourth-lowest percentage of adults to have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine at 46.6 percent as of Aug 6, well below the national rate of 65.6 percent.
The government, said Lee, has adopted a "just in time" approach to healthcare preparedness, which he argued was not enough during a pandemic.
"This is why, despite being in the opposition, I felt like I had to break the mould and take matters into my own hands by trying my luck in getting a mobile vaccination centre going," he added.
Lee revealed the cost of doing so was "astronomical" but he plans to keep it going for three months and fundraising was an ongoing effort.
The "Pinji Kita" programme is guided by the Health Ministry and coordinated by its subsidiary ProtectHealth Malaysia.
Meanwhile, according to a spokesperson from Loke's Chennah state assembly service centre, their initiative was done in collaboration with the Jelebu branch of the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF).
"Chennah is a big constituency. There are mobility issues for those in villages, including Orang Asli communes.
"We worked with CITF to address this," said the spokesperson, adding that their team has a capacity of 500 doses daily.
Vaccinations were carried out by the CITF while the Chennah DAP arranged logistics - buses, food, tents and volunteers.
According to the spokesperson, the state government - controlled by Pakatan Harapan - sponsored public venues for the vaccination efforts.
As of Aug 6, Negeri Sembilan ranked fourth in terms of adults who have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine with 77.5 percent.
However, Negeri Sembilan has been badly hit by the spread of Covid-19 with new daily cases consistently trending upwards since May.
Apart from these two lawmakers, Malaysiakini understood that the CITF has also approved NGOs to conduct outreach and mobile vaccination efforts.
As of Aug 6, 35.3 percent of the national population have completed their immunisation process. - Mkini
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