Coronavirus: Vaccines
Johor ruler says vaccination rate too slow in his state
Opposition claims supply crunch in Malaysia led to four Johor inoculation centres closing
Sign up now: Get insights on the biggest stories in Malaysia
An elderly man getting a dose of the Sinovac vaccine outside a mobile centre in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Hazlin Hassan Malaysia Correspondent In Kuala Lumpur, Hazlin Hassan
Johor's ruler has expressed disappointment with the glacial pace of Covid-19 vaccination in the southern Malaysian state, as the opposition claims that four vaccination centres have shut down temporarily after running out of shots amid a nationwide supply crunch.
"I feel the vaccination rate is still too slow and needs to be accelerated urgently. I hope the federal government can also increase vaccine supplies to Johor," Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar said on his Facebook page on Wednesday.
"The Johor state government machinery is prepared to deliver 50,000 jabs a day, with the aim of vaccinating 50 per cent of the Johor population within two months." His comments came after the sultan of Selangor voiced similar concerns for his state earlier this month.
According to the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force, some 15 per cent of Johor's 3.78 million residents have received at least one vaccine dose.
Lawmaker for the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP), Ms Wong Shu Qi, claimed that four vaccination centres had to be temporarily closed after running out of vaccine supplies.
"Even the vaccination centre in the Prime Minister's constituency of Pagoh is closed," Ms Wong told The Straits Times.
The office of the coordinating minister for immunisation, Mr Khairy Jamaluddin, did not respond to a request from ST yesterday for comments on the alleged closure of the four centres.
Ms Wong and fellow DAP MP Teo Nie Ching said in a joint statement on Wednesday: "We were also informed that the number of vaccines given daily in some districts, including Kulai, has fallen drastically. This shows there are insufficient vaccine stocks in Johor."
They said the state had administered over 20,000 doses a day on June 14, 15 and 17, but this fell to 13,718 doses on June 20, 16,738 on June 21 and 17,268 on June 22.
The acceleration of vaccinations in the Klang Valley is also said to be causing the slowdown.
The DAP MPs noted that several mega vaccination centres in the Klang Valley - which consists of much of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur - have opened recently, with a large number of doses being given out daily, as it is the worst-hit area in the country.
They said while it is not surprising if Mr Khairy intends to focus on the Klang Valley, he must reveal this information so that the public "can understand which areas are being prioritised".
"Most importantly, the number of doses distributed among the districts should be based on population. We were informed that there are young people in a certain minister's constituency who have already received their vaccination appointment even though there are senior citizens in other constituencies who have yet to get their appointment," they said.
"Rumours on social media about queue-cutting to get a vaccine appointment can also erode public confidence in the national immunisation programme."
Johor had earlier targeted to vaccinate 80 per cent of its population by October, as it works towards reopening its border with Singapore.
Mr Khairy said last week that the aim is to hit 50 per cent in Johor by September, and complete the rest by October.
Malaysia is rapidly increasing the number of vaccination centres, and targeting an extra 1,000 private clinics by the end of the month, as well as getting retired health workers and medical students to administer the vaccine.
