Malaysia's vaccination drive moves into high gear

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia on Thursday (June 3) recorded a new milestone in its vaccination drive when 117,563 doses of vaccine jabs were administered in a single day, the highest number since the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) was implemented 100 days ago.

The figure is a clear indication that the vaccination programme has moved into high gear and is set to meet the target of administering 150,000 vaccine shots per day in June before increasing it to 200,000 shots by July.

On Thursday, National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin 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.

Khairy, who is also the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, had pointed out Malaysia's vaccination rate, including first dose, has surpassed Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Based on vaccine doses administered per 100 people in the total population, statistics provided by ourworldindata.org indicate Malaysia with a figure of 9.3 is close behind its immediate neighbours Indonesia (9.98) and Brunei (12.06). Only Singapore is far ahead with a figure of 69.19.

The figures from the Special Committee on COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee (JKJAV) as of Friday indicate 12,584,422 people or more than one third of the Malaysian population of 31.5 million have registered for the vaccine.

Already 2,282,783 Malaysians have completed the vaccination process. Malaysia on Friday recorded 7,748 new cases and 86 fatalities, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases to 603,122 with total number of fatalities now at 3,182.

-- BERNAMA