Malaysia will only be able to fully inoculate 10 per cent of its population by mid-July, and not by the end of this month, potentially delaying the country's targeted easing of a lockdown to deal with the surge in Covid-19 cases.
The target of fully vaccinating 10 per cent of the population, one of three key criteria to evaluate the easing of lockdown measures, will not be fulfilled before June 28, Mr Khairy Jamaluddin, the coordinating minister for immunisation, told a press briefing yesterday.
The lockdown, which has been in place since June 1, is slated to end on June 28, with Malaysia then supposed to move into phase two, with a greater operational capacity allowed for economic sectors.
"By end-June, we estimate to be able to deliver eight million doses. Going by the ratio of first dose and second dose, we need to have administered 10.7 million doses in order to fully vaccinate 3.2 million of the population.
"We expect to reach 10.7 million doses in mid-July," Mr Khairy said.
As at Sunday, 1.6 million people, or 5 per cent of Malaysia's population, had received both doses of the vaccine. In total, 4.2 million people, or 12 per cent of the population, have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had said last week that the vaccination rate, along with critical-care hospital bed availability and daily case tallies, will serve as indicators in the country's push for herd immunity, allowing it to gradually reopen its economy by the end of the year.
The Muhyiddin administration has been facing intense pressure from the public and the country's monarchs to get a better handle on the Covid-19 crisis that has decimated jobs.
But it is fighting a tough battle against the disease this year, with the increasing vaccination rate being the only bright spot.
Yet another key criterion for easing the so-called full movement control order has also not been met.
Malaysia yesterday reported 4,611 new coronavirus cases, the lowest figure in more than a month but still above the threshold average of 4,000 cases which the government has said would allow for the next phase of its Covid-19 exit plan.
The one-week daily case average stood at over 5,500 cases, Health Minister Dr Adham Baba said yesterday, although he added that he remained confident the daily cases could dip below 4,000 before the end of this month.
But hospital bed usage, especially for severely ill Covid-19 patients, also remained high, said Dr Adham, with 92 per cent of all intensive care unit (ICU) beds allocated for Covid-19 patients occupied. Another 66 per cent of hospital beds for less severe Covid-19 patients have been taken up.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin had said last week that ICU bed usage needed to return to more moderate levels for the lockdown to be eased.
A further relaxation that would allow much of the economy to reopen, which the government calls phase three, has been targeted for the end of August. This is when the country aims to have the entire adult population of the capital Kuala Lumpur and the administrative capital Putrajaya fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile, Malaysia yesterday kick-started the third phase of its immunisation programme in Klang Valley, the main urban artery of the country - comprising Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and most parts of Selangor state - with a total population of more than seven million.
The third phase targets the general population aged 18 and above.
Mr Khairy said a large majority of senior citizens and people in high-risk groups who had registered for vaccination in Kuala Lumpur and the country's most populous state Selangor have received at least one dose of the vaccine; therefore, the government will "proactively" move towards inoculating the rest of the adult population in Malaysia's main economic region.
