SHAH ALAM: The Selangor government will increase the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses dispensed in the state to 300,000 a day by the end of this month, said Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.

He said the move was part of the state government's efforts to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection among the people in the state and to move into Phase Two of Phase Three of the National Recovery Plan (PPN) by the end of August.

Amirudin said a meeting with National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin last Friday had agreed that Selangor needed to increase its vaccination rate to 272,000 doses daily from the target of 165,000 set previously.

He said the new target could be achieved through the simultaneous implementation of the the Selangor Vaccination Programme (Selvax), PICK and Public-Private Partnership COVID-19 Industry Immunisation Programme (PIKAS) in the state.

"Through Selvax, we can also add another 40,000 doses a day to reach the target of administering 270,000 to 300,000 vaccine doses a day," he told Bernama today.

Amirudin said the target was also in line with the federal government's efforts through the Operation Surge Capacity initiative that would implemented to ensure that all adults in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor receive at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Aug 1.

"If everything goes well, I believe that Selangor can enter Phase Two or Phase Three of the PPN by the end of August as well as reduce the number of COVID-19 cases in the state, just like in Labuan," he said.

So far, Amirudin said more than 13 per cent of adults in Selangor have been fully vaccinated while those who received the first dose stood at 40 per cent.

He said Selangor recorded the highest daily vaccination rate in the country with more than 100,000 doses a day and it would be increased from time to time.

Amirudin said Selangor would also increase the number of vaccinator by 30 to 40 per cent through cooperation with private hospitals and clinics as well as extend vaccination centres' (PPV) operating hours.

Meanwhile, he said the state government would continue to work with the management of factories and construction sites as well as non-governmental organisations to ensure that refugees and illegal immigrants were also vaccinated.

"They should also be vaccinated to prevent them from becoming COVID-19 carriers and for us to achieve herd immunity," he said, adding that an estimated 500,000 Rohingya refugees were in the state.

-- BERNAMA