State disaster management committee (SDMC) chairman Douglas Uggah Embas said the single-dose CanSino vaccine would enable medical teams to carry out the vaccination exercise once per location, thus cutting down on expenses, travelling time and the inconveniences or risks involved.

“In Sarawak, we have our people scattered over a huge area in the interiors, where transportation is not only a problem but expensive as well,” he said in a statement.

Uggah, who is also deputy chief minister, said the decision, which was announced by health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah today, would also expedite the state’s target of completing its vaccination programme by August.

“The SDMC has forwarded its request to the federal government for suitable allocation of the vaccine to the state as soon as the supply is available (to expedite the vaccination exercise),” he added.