JOHOR BARU (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Johor aims to acquire 500,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines from Singapore or China, said Menteri Besar Hasni Mohammad.

He said the state was being proactive and would bank on its good relations with the two countries to secure the additional doses, which could benefit at least 250,000 people.

"In the past, both countries have been generous in donating medical supplies such as personal protective equipment, sanitiser, masks and even ventilators to the state.

"If Singapore, being our closest neighbour, has additional Covid-19 vaccine quotas, then Johor is willing to purchase them as long as these vaccines are approved by our National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency," he said on Wednesday (June 2).

As for China, Datuk Hasni said, he had conveyed Johor's willingness to purchase the vaccines to Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, to help expedite the matter.

Meanwhile, Malaysia's coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme Khairy Jamaluddin said state governments may go ahead and buy Covid-19 vaccines from pharmaceutical companies that are not supplying to the federal government.

He said the government is not restricting any state's intentions to procure its own vaccines and may even facilitate the effort.

"If states want to buy from other suppliers which are not supplying the federal government, go ahead - there is no restriction or monopoly.

"The federal government is only purchasing Pfizer, Sinovac and AstraZeneca but not other brands such as Moderna and Sinopharm, which have received approval from the World Health Organisation.

"If states want to take in those vaccines, sure, as long as they are registered with the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency.

"If they want to negotiate with the pharmaceutical companies, go ahead and we can facilitate it," Mr Khairy said on Thursday after visiting a vaccine dispensing centre in Penang.

Mr Khairy, who is also Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, said 3.28 million vaccine doses have been administered to the people in the 100 days since the launch of the immunisation programme.

Johor's Mr Hasni said the state hopes to rope in KPJ Healthcare, a specialist healthcare services firm, to help Johor with vaccinations once the additional doses arrive, adding that it was important for 80 per cent of the state's population to be vaccinated by October to achieve Covid-19 herd immunity. Malaysia is aiming to inoculate 80 per cent of its population by the end of the year to achieve herd immunity.

Mr Hasni noted that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had also pledged to dispatch additional vaccines to the state in the coming weeks, and these would be distributed to the 36 vaccine-dispensing centres statewide.

"Once we have more doses, we expect to push our vaccination efforts by roping in at least 15 private hospitals and 32 private clinics in the state.

"We hope to vaccinate at least 20,000 people per day by then," he said, urging more people to sign up for vaccination.

On the move to get vaccines through the ImmuPlan Johor initiative, which was launched on April 20 to secure 100,000 doses for economic front-liners, including those working in Singapore, Mr Hasni said that as at May 31, a total of 109,581 applications had been received, with at least 80 per cent of them meeting the criteria.

"Those who have registered, please be patient as the state is doing its best to get the vaccines soon," he said.

Mr Hasni also urged those who met the criteria to sign up, as he would be able to present a strong point to negotiate with the federal government for additional vaccines if there was a huge number of applications.