KOTA KINABALU, Sept 9 — Sabah Health Department director Dr Rose Nani Mudin today urged immigrants in the state including those without documents to come forward and get their Covid-19 jab at any vaccination centre in order to reach herd immunity.
She said also urged them not to believe any rumours that they would be arrested by authorities when they walk into any vaccination centres.
“There are fake messages on social media saying that they will be charged a fee. Some are also scaring people away by saying that foreigners will be arrest by the authorities when they come to get themselves vaccinated. All this is untrue.
“The main reason for the vaccine is to ensure all residents in Sabah are safe from Covid 19.
“The vaccine is being offered by the government free-of-charge to everyone — Malaysians and non-Malaysians.
“We are asking for undocumented residents to get vaccinated as soon as possible too,” she said in a statement here today.
The state recently ramped up its vaccination drive with the hope of vaccinating 60 per cent of its registered adult population by the end of September.
The target is to vaccinate 80 per cent of the adult population by October, and then move toward vaccinating teenagers aged 16 to 17.
With a recent supply boost of vaccines, the state had targeted to reach 70,000 jabs per day, but has only managed some 40,000 per day in the last three days.
With 24 vaccination centres around the state and some mobile outreach drives, the state has the capacity to administer 83,140 jabs per day.
“To achieve herd immunity, we need to vaccinate 1,023,782 more people,” said Dr Rose.
The state has so far fully vaccinated 48 per cent of the adult population, while some 65 per cent have received one dose. The number, however, does not include the vast undocumented population.
Districts like Beaufort and Putatan have vaccinated more than 100 per cent of their registered adult population while Kuala Penyu, Kota Kinabalu and Sipitang are trailing behind with over 80 per cent vaccinated.
The state has been recording a high number of cases with 2,067 today, an increase of 231 from yesterday.
