KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — A total of 55,017 Sarawak residents have received their Covid-19 vaccine booster shots as of yesterday, says State Health Department Deputy Director (Public Health) Dr Rosemawati Ariffin.

In a statement issued today, she said the booster dose is given free and dispensed at private clinics and hospitals, health clinics and public and mobile vaccination centres (PPV).

"The Sarawak Health Department is appealing to those who are eligible and have received their appointment dates through MySejahtera to go to designated heatlh facilities for their Covid-19 vaccine booster shots,” she said.

She said Pfizer BioNTech haD been given conditional approval for the booster dose and for those who have received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine can get their booster shots six months after receiving their second dose.

"For those who have received their first and second doses of the Sinovac vaccine, they are allowed to receive the booster vaccine after three months receiving the second dose. If they have not been informed of their dates, they can contact the health facilities involved for an appointment,” she said. 

Sarawak began administering the Covid-19 booster shot on Oct 13 in a move to provide additional protection to its high-risk group population.

The exercise will involve some 11,900 people who are immunocompromised patients or those with weak immunity or are under medical treatment. 

Apart from that, the booster shots are also given to those over 60-years old involving 80,300 individuals and medical frontliners totalling 30,340 individuals. — Bernama