SARAWAK will spending RM30 million on transporting the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to all corners of the state, including the remotest and hardest to reach locations.

Deputy Chief Minister Douglas Uggah told reporters the state will ensure all its 2.1 million people and some 200,000 foreign residents have access to the vaccine against Covid-19 that has so far killed 76 people in Sarawak

The state’s vaccination campaign begins on Friday in Kuching and Sibu.

Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg will be the first recipient of the jab, at the Petrajaya clinic in Kuching.

Uggah said the state disaster management committee which he chairs is working with the respective resident offices on the logistics plan.

“The (logistics) process is very tedious. Needs (meticulous) planning and a lot of material and manpower.

“We want to make sure the people in the interior get the vaccine too,” he said after witnessing the arrival of the first shipment of 23,400 doses of the vaccine, at the Kuching international airport this evening.

Uggah yesterday raised concerns over the challenge of getting the doses to state’s most remote reaches within five hours of them leaving deep-freeze storage, described the effort as “one of the greatest exercises” undertaken by the disaster management committee.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine must be stored in minus 75 degrees Celsius temperatures. Once taken out of deep freeze, it has a shelf life of just five hours.

He said the target was to have all the 2.2 million people in the state vaccinated by the end of August.

The second shipment of 31,590 doses is expected on March 2. Enough doses will be delivered in batches over the month for 97,161 front-liners.

State health director Dr Chin Zin Hing said the second phase of the campaign starting April 1 will see to the vaccination of 900,000 senior citizens and people with comorbidity conditions.

People aged 18 and above will receive the shot in the third phase.

The batch of vaccine that arrived today will be sent overland to storage centres in Kuching and Sibu tomorrow. From there, there will be distributed among 53 vaccination centres in Samarahan, Serian, Sri Aman, Sarikei, Kapit and Mukah divisions.
 
The vaccine are transported by road because their storage containers cannot fit into helicopters or small planes. – February 24, 2021.