Vaccine arrives in Tawau, Semporna

SEMPORNA: The Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine has arrived in Semporna and Tawau on Saturday via the land route from Kota Kinabalu to kick-start the first phase of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme in the districts next month.

Semporna District Health Officer Dr Shameer Khan Sulaiman said the vaccine would be stored at the Semporna Health Clinic.

“A total of 1,397 frontline personnel will receive their first dose of the vaccine in March,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tawau Municipal Council President Arnold Joibi said nine locations, including in Kalabakan, have been identified as the vaccination centres for the first phase of the immunisation programme in the district.

Checks at the Tawau Tanjung Market found several traders were hoping to be vaccinated as soon as possible so that life and business will return to normal.

Naterhasan Ibnu, 25, said the vaccination was important not only for traders but also for all residents who frequently visit the market.

“Being the largest market in the district, the Tanjung Market is definitely the public’s choice to shop for their daily necessities and, therefore, I should get vaccinated early as other frontliners,” he said.

A vegetable seller, Norazizah Arsyad, 40, said traders were prone to Covid-19 infection and their daily income would be affected 100 per cent if the market had to be close often due to Covid-19.

Fishmonger Chong Fui Lan, 52, was thankful as the much-awaited vaccine to protect the people from Covid-19 has finally arrived in Malaysia.

All systems set for vaccine rollout in Semporna, Tawau, Sandakan

Meanwhile, the vaccine intended for Sandakan also safely arrived at the Duchess of Kent Hospital (DOKH) via Telupid on Saturday afternoon.

Sandakan District Police Chief ACP Mohd Azhar Hamin said the vaccine was transported by land from Kota Kinabalu City to Telupid.

“Upon arrival at 10.45am in Telupid, a DOKH team continued the trip under tight police security to deliver the vaccines for storage purposes at the hospital...the team arrived at its destination at 1.10pm,” Mohd Azhar, who is also the Sandakan Disaster Management Deputy Chairman, said.