Only 1.8 pct left to be vaccinated for adult population 80 pct herd immunity - Dr Adham

JOHOR BAHRU: Only about 1.8 per cent of the adult population remains to be vaccinated against COVID-19 for Malaysia to achieve the 80 per cent herd immunity for adults, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba said.

He said as of yesterday, 78.2 per cent of the country's adult population have been fully vaccinated.

"The focus is currently on all states for at least 60 percent of the adult population to be fully vaccinated by the end of September.

"This month, the vaccination rate was much higher in certain states as efforts are focused on states which still have low (vaccination) rates, namely Kelantan, Pahang, Kedah, Perak and Sabah," he told reporters here today.

Earlier, Dr Adham visited the OKU Sentral drive-thru vaccination centre (PPV) at the Johor Bahru City Council Aquatic Centre in Arena Larking here today.

Accompanying the minister was OKU Sentral President Senator Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi.

Dr Adham said vaccination coverage in most states is on track, especially in Sarawak, Labuan and in the Klang Valley covering Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

However, he said that it did not mean that vaccination efforts were being slowed down, adding that instead, it was merely focused on certain states and areas, including groups inadvertently left out.

"The daily vaccination rate recorded yesterday was 232,559 doses, with the highest number of doses administered in Sabah, Johor and the Klang Valley," he said.

On vaccinations involving Persons with Disabilities (PwD), Dr Adham said according to data from the COVID-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF), a total of 517,447 out of 575,564 PwDs, or 89.9 per cent, had received at least one dose.

He said 401,425 of them have been fully vaccinated, covering 69.74 per cent of PwDs registered for the COVID-19 vaccine.

On the OKU Sentral drive-thru PPV at the Aquatic Centre, he said it would be open to the public on a 'walk-in' basis from tomorrow until Sept 30.

-- BERNAMA