KUCHING, APRIL 23: The Federal Government has approved the Sarawak government’s request to purchase its own Covid-19 vaccines.
State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) Chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said the approval was given during a meeting with Coordinating Minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme Khairy Jamaluddin in Putrajaya recently.
On March 18, the Sarawak Government had written to the Federal Government regarding its intention to purchase Covid-19 vaccines for the state.
Following that, Uggah said the State Covid-19 Advisory Group (SCOVAG) had been given the responsibility to discuss the purchase with the vaccine suppliers.
“We are now discussing the matter with the relevant authorities to sort out how we want to purchase it. It will be used as reserve in case there is any problem with the supply from the federal government,” he told reporters here today.
Uggah earlier witnessed the implementation of the second phase of the Kuching division National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme at Stadium Perpaduan Petrajaya today which saw a total of 1,278 individuals from high-risk groups and senior citizens aged 60 and above receiving the vaccines.
Meanwhile, Uggah expressed hope that the Federal Government would accept manual registrations for the immunisation programme for residents in rural areas.
He explained that a lot of rural folk do not have access to  smartphones to register via the MySejahtera application hence having to register manually at district or resident offices.
“We have also asked those in the rural areas to register using the district or resident office’s phone. When they receive the appointment notifications, the office will contact the recipients,” he said.
Sarawak, he said, aims to complete vaccinations by August this year.
