SHAH ALAM, June 27 —Selangor may be forced to temporarily close some vaccination centres unless its Covid-19 vaccine supply is replenished, says Selangor state executive councillor on public health Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud.
In a series of tweets from last night until today, Dr Siti Mariah said currently the state only has 20,000 doses left in its stockpile and if no more stocks arrived by tomorrow some PPV may have to be closed.
“Current vaccination capacity in Selangor’s Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) vaccination centres (PPVs) is 87,616.
“(The) average number of vaccines given daily is 50,000 for (the) first dose and 20,000 for (the) second dose.
“Balance 20,000 doses. If no additional vaccines arrived by tomorrow, some PPV will have to close,” she said on Twitter today.
She tweeted this in response to what the Minister in charge of the National Covid-19 Immunisation programme (PICK) Khairy Jamaluddin said in a press conference at the Malaysia International Trade Exhibition Center (Mitec) vaccine distribution centre yesterday.
“We have increased (vaccine) distribution to Selangor in June and July. I think they are getting more than 20 per cent of the total vaccine supply.
“Selangor has issues with capacity. They were vaccinating at a rate of about 20,000 a day. I had to visit Selangor, to work with the state government to increase the capacity.
“Now they’re doing almost 50,000 doses a day. But they need to do more than 100,000 a day,” Khairy was quoted in a Malaysiakini news report on its portal yesterday.
In an immediate rebuke of Khairy’s statement on Selangor’s vaccination rate, Dr Siti Mariah made reference to Pinocchio, a character in a children’s story whose nose grows larger when he tells a falsehood.
“It really seems that the minister does not know the problem on the ground. Selangor has the capacity to do more. If it continues as he says, after a few days, there will be PPV that will have to be closed temporarily.
“Don’t lie by saying there is enough supply. Be truthful or your nose will get longer,” she tweeted yesterday.
Dr Siti Mariah also reminded that if Selangor was discriminated it will impact the whole country.
“Discriminate (against) Selangor, (and the) whole country will suffer. You (will) answer to Allah YB minister.” she tweeted yesterday.
Dr Siti Mariah, said all the state’s machinery and agencies are working well with the Federal health authority in vaccinating the people.
But she said this effort was hampered by the low number of vaccines given to the state thus hampering its immunisation programme.
“The Selangor State Health Department (JKNS) and the state government is working well together. We contained (Covid-19) clusters (at) factories in Selangor, we can contain Covid-19 throughout the country.
“Targetted vaccination (is) the way to go. We need (more) vaccines minister. Please listen,” she tweeted yesterday.
On June 8, Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj had voiced his hope that the Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee (JKJAV) would speed up and increase the number of vaccine doses for the state’s residents.
The Selangor Ruler was surprised when the CITF confirmed that Selangor had only received 615,210 Covid-19 vaccine doses and not 2.9 million as previously claimed.
His Royal Highness had also expressed the unfair and unbalanced vaccine distribution due to Selangor’s high population of 6.5 million.
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