With the government ramping up the national vaccination rate as vaccine supplies increase, Khairy Jamaluddin has been announcing projections of when each state will reach the coveted figure.
While Khairy, the coordinating minister for the national Covid-19 immunisation programme, admits that “herd immunity” may no longer be a useful yardstick against which to measure the programme’s success, 80% has long been the benchmark set by the government.
According to him, the government is aiming to fully vaccinate 26 million people by December.
The vaccination rate is also a key indicator that will dictate when Malaysia is able to move through the different phases of the national recovery plan, which will culminate with the full reopening of the economy and the return of domestic tourism.
Labuan is projected to achieve 80% vaccination next month and will be the first state to do so.
The other federal territories, Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur, as well as Sarawak and Selangor are expected to reach the milestone in August.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Khairy said he expected the average vaccination rate to exceed 430,000 a day in August.
If these states are successful, the country should be able to breach the 40% target needed to move on to Phase 3 of the national recovery plan.
He expects Johor and Penang to have fully vaccinated 80% of their populations in October.
If all goes according to plan, these states will be followed by Kelantan in November.
This would push Malaysia towards the 60% mark needed to enter Phase 4, which would see some sense of normalcy return to the country.
Vaccination efforts will continue in Pahang, Negeri Sembilan, Sabah, Perak, Kedah, Terengganu, Melaka and Perlis with an eye on reaching the 80% mark before the end of the year.
Yesterday, Khairy said Negeri Sembilan would also hit 80% in October. Two weeks ago, he was quoted as saying Pahang would also hit 80% in October, before the monsoon season hits. That would leave the other six states bringing up the rear. Perlis, for one, has announced a target of December to reach 80%.
At a recent talk hosted by the Oxford and Cambridge Society Malaysia, Khairy said he had been given specific instructions to begin expediting vaccinations as soon as possible.
“I was instructed by the Cabinet and the prime minister to accelerate the vaccination exercise,” he said. “That means, rather than phasing things out and leaving things until December, we are trying to achieve the targets as quickly as possible.”
What happens after the country reaches 80% is still yet to be revealed, but it would mark a key turning point in the country’s long and protracted battle with the Covid-19 virus.
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