Herd immunity target on schedule - PM Muhyiddin

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is confident that Malaysia's target to achieve herd immunity as projected by the National Recovery Plan can be completed as scheduled following the increase in the supply of COVID-19 vaccines by the country's major suppliers.

He said towards this, the government would work harder to ensure that the supplies arrive in the country on schedule.

"I am aware that many people out there are asking, why not do this, why not do a lot more. Khairy (Khairy Jamaluddin) has informed many times that we can do it if there are lots of vaccines ... but we are limited and not because we don't want or the government is blocking it, no, we want to finish everything in a month or two.

"But we can't control that (vaccine supply) because the suppliers are from abroad, so we have to wait our turn, but it is guaranteed that the supplies will arrive within the scheduled time," he told reporters after visiting the vaccination centre (PPV) at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here today.

Khairy, who is Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation and also Coordinating Minister for the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme, was also present.

The Prime Minister said what was important was that the vaccination registration process be expedited.

"Now many facilities are given, the people can register via MySejahtera, online or physically or if there is a micro PPV in their place that have been brought right up to villages, mosque, surau, they can just go down there, bring along their IC(identity card) and they will be registered and their names will be entered into the MySejahtera system," he said.

Muhyiddin also expressed his appreciation to the frontliners and volunteers for helping smoothen the vaccination process at PPV.

"I saw earlier (here) they were in high spirits, from early morning until late afternoon and night they work. The numbers we need are still high, so if more can come forward and offer to be volunteers, we can simplify things and speed up our vaccination process," he added.

-- BERNAMA