KUCHING, July 21 — Those getting their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine in Sarawak after July 22 will be administered with either Pfizer-BioNTech or Cansino vaccine, said Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) advisor Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian.

He shared in a Facebook post yesterday that those due for second dose of vaccine after July 22 will receive the same type of vaccines as their first dose be they Sinovac, AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech.

"National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has announced the Sinovac will complete its 12 million vaccines supply in July),” said Dr Sim who is also Local Government and Housing Minister.

It had been previously reported that Sarawak opted to use the single-dose Cansino vaccine for the Covid-19 immunisation programme in the state’s rural and interior areas to expedite vaccination in order to achieve herd immunity by the end of August.

The Cansino vaccine was given conditional approval for emergency use in Malaysia by the Drug Control Authority on June 15. It was also reported that Sarawak had requested 650,000 doses of the vaccine from the federal government.

On July 16, Khairy had explained that Malaysia’s decision to stop giving Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines is because the country will receive its completed delivery order by the end of July, and he dismissed speculations that the decision was due to concerns over the vaccine’s efficacy.

He had said from August onwards, vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech will be the main ones used for the national vaccination programme.

According to Dr Sim, this amazing extraordinary teamwork has resulted in 72 per cent eligible adult population to be vaccinated with their first doses or equivalent to 1,579,474 doses as of July 19.

Also as of July 19, he said 932,931 second doses have been administered or equivalent to 45.7 per cent of the eligible adult population.

In Dr Sim’s Facebook post yesterday, he also posted what appeared to be among the last few shipments of Sinovac vaccines which arrived in Kuching International Airport this morning.

He said the shipment was part of the weekly scheduled vaccine shipments to Sarawak under the PICK.

"Thank you very much for the close collaboration and partnership btw PICK by Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) and Ministry of Health with Sarawak government, and to all the Federal and State agencies as well as people of Sarawak in rolling out Covid-19 vaccines for Sarawak.

"(This is) Truly our spirit of solidarity and united war’s efforts against Covid-19,” he said.

On another matter, Dr Sim in a Facebook posting last night revealed close contacts to positive cases made up the majority of Covid-19 cases recorded in all the districts under Kuching and Samarahan Divisions on Monday (July 19).

He shared on Facebook last night that 166 close contacts to positive cases were detected in 77 locations all over Kuching Division by the divisional health office.

He elaborated Kuching District recorded 193 Covid-19 cases, Bau (26) Samarahan (5) and Lundu (3).

For Kuching District, he said 147 out of the 193 Covid-19 cases recorded in Kuching were from close contacts to positive cases .

"With a triple-digit rise in cases due to active case detection (ACD) operations and more areas under the Enhanced movement control order (EMCO) having completed the second round of swab testing, Dr Sim cautioned people not to let their guards down too soon.

"We must not panic over the numbers alone but (should) worry that those positive whom we have yet to pick up are blissfully ignorant and continue to spread (the infections) in our local communities while our number remain naively ‘low’,” he added.

According to Dr Sim’s posting Kampung Bintawa Hilir recorded 26 cases followed by Immigration Kuching (15), Jalan Lapangan Terbang (7), Jalan Bako (7), KFC Bako hostel (6), Jalan Bumbok (6), Jalan Stakan Jamboree (5), Kampung Telaga Air (4), Kampung Goeblit (4), and Taman Desa Moyan (4).

There were three cases each at Jalan Sourabaya Indah, Kampung Bidek, Kampung Lintang, Kampung Nyiru Grait, Taman Segedup and Taman Yen Yen. — Borneo Post Online