PUTRAJAYA: Operation Surge Capacity will be implemented to ensure that all adults in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor will get at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Aug 1, said Khairy Jamaluddin.

The National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) Coordinating Minister said according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), the adult population of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor is 6.1 million, and as of yesterday (July 15), 3.5 million people had received at least one dose of the vaccine.

He said about 1.3 million adults in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor will receive their first dose between today and July 25 while the rest will get theirs under the Operation Surge Capacity from July 26 to Aug 1.

"For individuals like migrants and the like not listed in the DOSM system, they can walk in to any vaccination centre in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor to get their first dose beginning Aug 1," he said at a media conference on PICK, held virtually together with Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba today.

Khairy said the authorities decided to ramp up vaccination in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor in a short period to curb the pandemic after seeing the success of the Federal Territory of Labuan in checking the spread of COVID-19 infections through fast-track vaccinations.

After vaccinating 85.3 per cent of its adult population, Labuan managed to reduce the rate of infectivity to 0.84 and new cases to only 26 yesterday, he added.

"So we hope that by adapting this model, we can achieve similar results in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur," he said.

Khairy said the COVID-19 Immunisation Task Force was making preparations to increase the vaccination rate in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, that is from 180,000 doses per day to 272,000 doses daily.

-- BERNAMA