Vaccine: 96.7 per cent of adults in KL, S'gor given first dose - Khairy

PUTRAJAYA: A total of 96.7 per cent of the adult population in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor have received at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of yesterday, said Coordinating Minister for the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme, Khairy Jamaluddin.

He said Operation Surge Capacity, held from July 26 to Aug 1, had increased the number of first-dose vaccine adult recipients in the Klang Valley, with a total of 1,655,217 appointments issued during the implementation period.

Operation Surge Capacity was implemented to ensure that every adult in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur aged 18 and above would receive at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Aug 1.

Based on data from the Statistics Department (DOSM), the adult population in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor is currently at 6.1 million.

"It has been successful despite not hitting 100 per cent of the adult population with at least a single dose. We will work on those who have yet to receive the vaccine in the first week of August," said Khairy in a press conference on developments pertaining to the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) here today.

According to Khairy, cancelled appointments and no-shows were among the reasons why there were still adults in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor who have yet to receive their shots.

As for the fully vaccinated, he said 37.5 per cent of the adult population in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor have completed both doses.

-- BERNAMA