Vaccination against COVID-19 for teenagers in Sarawak starts today

KUCHING: Sarawak today started vaccinating its teenagers aged 16 to 17 against COVID-19 and is targeting complete vaccination for this group before Oct 3 when the school session begins.

Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said 96,400 teenagers in this age group, which represented 3.4 per cent of the state's population, would be receiving the vaccine.

"The inoculation will be done at the public vaccine administering centre (PPV) and schools while the health clinics will be vaccinating the non-schooling teenagers and school hostelites who are still in their villages."

He said this at a news conference after visiting the PPV for teenagers at the Telaga Air Health Clinic, about 25 km from here.

As for the young aged 12 to 15, numbering 192,800 in Sarawak, Abang Johari said they would be vaccinated by the end of September, starting with those having co-morbidities, and the full vaccination for this age group was expected to be completed in the fourth week of October.

Abang Johari said the State Education Department had yesterday been appointed to manage the vaccination exercise against COVID-19 for school students.

"Parents are encouraged to bring their children who are eligible to receive the vaccine to the special PPV set up, clinics and to the outreach programme held at schools," he added.

"For Kuching Division, 69 schools involving 20,990 students aged 16 to 17 will be receiving the vaccine and another 758 students from two secondary schools will be vaccinated at the nearby Telaga Air Health Clinic PPV," he added.

Abang Johari also said that up to Sept 6, Sarawak had achieved 88.9 per cent of the two-dose vaccination for its adult population.

-- BERNAMA