KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 — The special Committee on Ensuring Access to Covid-19 Supply (JKJAV) has ramped up vaccination efforts in rural areas to ensure all layers of society are protected from Covid-19.

Posting on JKJAV’s social media accounts has showcased that public health officials have begun vaccination in remote areas and even Orang Asli settlements in Kelantan, Sarawak, Pahang, Sabah and Kedah to name a few.

"The vaccination outreach programme is intensifying so that those in the interior, plantations and remote areas will receive the Covid-19 vaccine. This is an initiative in line with the National Recovery Plan,’’ said JKJAV in their social media post. 

It was reported previously that JKJAV in a joint coordinated effort with National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) and Malaysia Civil Defence Force (APM) are conducting face-to-face registration of Covid-19 vaccination in rural areas where internet access is limited or to reach communities that don’t have access to electronic gadgets.

In Sarawak, Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah had previously advised residents staying in the interior to walk to nearby vaccination centres without any prior appointment.

Uggah explained that they could not totally rely on the MySejahtera apps due to the occasional technical hiccups in the remote areas and it would be better if they come first to the vaccination centre to get their shots and register later.

Uggah had also welcomed the recent news by Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah on the conditional approval by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) to the Convidecia Recombinant Novel Coronavirus Vaccine (Adenovirus Type 5 Vector) produced by the CanSino Biologics Inc, China.

He stated that the CanSino vaccine fits in very well with the state rural scenario, where only one dose is required instead of the normal two.