MB: Johor to get over 400,500 Covid-19 vaccines from Singapore and UAE
ISKANDAR PUTERI, Sept 6 — Johor is scheduled to receive more than 400,500 Covid-19 vaccine doses that will be donated by Singapore and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad said the vaccine donation by Singapore was a sign of the close relationship between the state and the island republic.
He said Singapore had already donated about 20,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine to Johor on July 29.
“Singapore will be giving an additional 100,640 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to the Johor government soon.
“In addition to that, the state government will also receive 300,000 doses of the SinoPharm vaccine donated by the UAE government,” said Hasni.
The Benut assemblyman thanked former foreign minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein for his efforts in facilitating the process of receiving the donated vaccines to Johor.
“For the record, the number of vaccine doses received by the state under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Program between March 1 and yesterday is 4.7 million doses,” he told the Johor state assembly here today.
Hasni was replying Chew Peck Choo (PH-Yong Peng), Ng Yak Howe (PH-Bentayan), Dzulkefly Ahmad (PH-Kota Iskandar), Yeo Tung Siong (PH-Pekan Nanas), Tan Chen Choon (PH-Jementah), Jimmy Puah Wee Tse (PH-Bukit Batu), Gan Peck Cheng (PH-Penggaram), and Muhammad Taqiuddin Che’man (PH-Pulai Sebatang) who asked for the details of the state’s vaccine supply.
Hasni said 2.4 million doses of the vaccines received were from Pfizer, 1.8 million doses were Sinovac, and 410,750 doses were AstraZeneca.
He added that vaccination will be a key component to the state’s exit strategy in recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“With that, the Johor government has set a target of achieving 100 per cent of the state’s adult population aged 18 years above to at least receive one dose by September 16 and the completion of their second dose by the third week of October.
“Up till yesterday, 83.08 per cent or 2.2 million of the adult population aged 18 years above have received their first dose, while 52.61 per cent or 1.4 million have completed their second dose,” he said.
Hasni also said the Johor government welcomed the move by the Health Ministry to vaccinate those under the age of 18 in an effort to widen the herd immunity.
He said vaccination for those under 18, which will cover students, undergraduates and the young, is important over the proposal for the third shots.
Last Wednesday, Johor administered the highest number of Covid-19 vaccine doses nationwide, followed by Sabah and Perak.
The state inoculated 60,915 individuals, which accounted for 15.3 per cent of the total doses administered across the country on that day.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had said that the government will accelerate Covid-19 vaccination and medical operations in five states soon, namely Sabah, Johor, Penang, Kedah and Kelantan, which are currently experiencing a spike in Covid-19 cases as well as slow vaccination rates.
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