KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 117,563 doses of vaccine jabs were administered yesterday (June 3) - the highest number of daily vaccination since the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) was implemented 100 days ago on Feb 24.

The Special Committee on COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee (JKJAV) said that of the total, 109,827 individuals received their first jab while 7,736 others received their second dose.

"The total number (of vaccine doses given) will keep increasing," the committee said on its Twitter account.

As of yesterday, a total of 3,330,436 individuals had completed their double COVID-19 vaccine doses nationwide.

Yesterday, National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the government had set a target of administering 150,000 vaccine shots per day this month before increasing it to 200,000 shots by July.

Khairy, who is also the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, said the target would be achieved through the establishment of more vaccination centres, including 1,000 private clinics nationwide, as well as through the drive-through system.

Yesterday marked the 100th day of the implementation of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme, with the government continuing its efforts to increase capacity and mobilise available energy to ensure the immunisation programme is accelerated, including implementing vaccination empowerment strategies through the opening of seven mega-sized vaccination centres (PPVs).

In a statement today, the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry said mega PPVs started with the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Mitec) on May 31.The other mega PPVs that will operate are the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC), Axiata Bukit Jalil, MINES International Exhibition and Convention Centre (MIECC), Setia City Convention Centre and UiTM Puncak Alam.

"In total, 30,000 people daily can be vaccinated through these seven PPVs.

According to the statement, with the increasing number of cases, the government was working hard to ensure that as many people could be vaccinated as soon as possible. The safety as well as comfort during the vaccination process, especially for the elderly and persons with disabilities, in more than 280 PPVs (as of June 3) under the supervision of the COVID-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) are guaranteed.

"As a caring government, the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme has also accelerated the rate of vaccination as well as cooperation with the private sector and other ministries. It has also conducted outreach programmes to ensure that no one is left out of registering and getting the COVID-19 vaccines, if eligible, including the vulnerable and foreigners," it said.

According to the statement, the country has obtained a total of 5,623,800 doses of vaccine while 30,268 volunteers have registered to help make the programme a success.

To date, there are 218 privately-operated PPVs.

"Since May 27, the government has successfully vaccinated an average of 100,000 people a day and, until May 28, one million individuals have received both doses of their vaccination. The government's next target is to give out 200,000 doses a day by July 31.

"With these ongoing efforts, the government is confident that the herd immunity target can be achieved, more people will be protected from the COVID-19 infection, the spread of this pandemic can be curbed, and the country's economic sector can be reopened as soon as possible," it said.

For the record, Malaysia started purchasing vaccines in August 2020 and received the first supply of 312,390 doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccines on Feb 21, 2021. On Feb 24, vaccine registration was opened to Malaysians through the MySejahtera application.

"On the same day, the Prime Minister (Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin) became the first person to be vaccinated in Malaysia to mark the beginning of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme and, yesterday, the programme reached its 100th day.

"On May 2, voluntary registration for the AstraZeneca vaccine was opened with all 268,800 slots filled up in just three hours and 20 minutes. This voluntary booking received a very encouraging response from the public, when 100,000 slots were filled in the first hour alone," it added.

-- BERNAMA