KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government has decided to purchase its own Covid-19 vaccines as preparation for any possible disruption of vaccine supply in the state.
Sabah Covid-19 spokesman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said the decision was made based on information from sources indicating that there might be an interruption in the supply of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine to purchaser countries, including Malaysia.
"The state government will ask government-linked companies (GLCs) to use part of their business profits to buy vaccines for their staff and employees. The rest of the vaccines will be donated free of charge to eligible citizens.
"This initiative will enhance the immunisation programme and expedite administering the vaccine to all residents in Sabah.
"The Sabah government, through the GLCs , is ready to buy vaccines if there is a shortage of supply to ensure that all residents can be vaccinated immediately and achieve herd immunity at the targeted time.
"The expenditure on the purchase of the vaccines will be deducted from the annual dividends paid every year by the GLCs to the state government," he said in a statement.
Masidi added that private companies, especially large plantation companies, were also strongly encouraged to implement their corporate social responsibility (CSR) for the welfare of their employees.
"These large companies are encouraged to buy vaccines for the use of their own employees without waiting for the free vaccines provided by the government.
"We are aware that most (about 80 per cent) of the plantation workers are foreigners. This charity programme or CSR will help speed up the vaccination of the entire adult population in Sabah, regardless of citizen or non-citizen.
"The state government will consider allowing large plantations that have successfully vaccinated 100 per cent of their employees (including families) to operate again with 100 per cent capacity," he said.
Any companies who wish to purchase their own vaccines for their employees can contact Qhazanah Sabah Sdn Bhd (formerly known as Warisan Harta) which has been appointed by Pharmaniaga Bhd as the representative to sell the Sinovac vaccine in Sabah, he said.
Masidi stressed that the Sabah government gave its assurance that the people of Sabah would receive free vaccines.
"The proposal to encourage large companies to donate vaccines to their employees is to speed up achieving herd immunity and at the same time enable the companies to operate one hundred percent when all their employees are fully vaccinated.
"This move will accelerate the economic recovery of our state," he said.
Masidi said the state government is concerned about the upward trend of Covid-19 in Sabah.
Today Covid-19 cases in Sabah reached the highest at 1,514 with 13 fatalities – seven in Kota Kinabalu and one each in Papar, Kudat, Tuaran, Penampang, Tawau and Beluran.
As usual, close contacts contributed the highest number of cases at 61.1 per cent (925 cases) of the caseload.
He said the virus is already in the community and the infection no longer occurs in remote localities that can be easily curbed by imposing an Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) or "lockdown" order.
"Now, many people are unknowingly 'potential virus carriers' or carriers of the virus who easily infect others, not to mention the emergence of new variants of Covid-19 in the state that are more dangerous and spread quickly.
"Thus, vaccination is the key to effective efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic in Sabah. At the same time, Sabahans should also cooperate in complying with all SOPs. Practicing high self-discipline and healthcare will reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection," he said.
Masidi said the supply of vaccines sent to Sabah is sufficient and the state will receive 1.5 million doses of vaccine this month.
The Sabah government is also satisfied with the daily vaccination rate that is being implemented by the Health Department in collaboration with other government agencies.
As of yesterday, 42 per cent of the eligible population in Sabah have received their first vaccine dose while 18.1 per cent have been fully vaccinated.
"The state government noted that the achievement of vaccination in each district is different. For example, in the Beaufort district 50.7 per cent of the population has already completed two doses of vaccine, but there are also some areas where the achievement is less than 12 per cent.
"The government has directed the state secretary to investigate the cause of this low vaccination performance and take immediate action to rectify it.
"Apart from that, the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) chairman of each district has been instructed to ensure their vaccination drive achieved the set daily quota," he said.
Masidi added that state Health director Dr Rose Nani Mudin had recommended new methods and approaches to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic in Sabah and this had been agreed to by the state government.
"This includes increasing the percentage of vaccinations among the population of Sabah to achieve herd immunity before October 2021 and the Movement Control Order is no longer the primary method of stopping the spread of Covid19 infection.
"We have to accept the fact that we have to live with Covid-19 for a long time and the new norm becomes a practice in daily life.
"We have to take new measures and policies that balance lives and livelihoods to enable Sabah's economy can recover as usual with compliance to the new norms," he said adding that the success of this new approach and policy depends a lot on the cooperation of the people.