Instead, Amirudin explained that the state government has been engaged in negotiations to obtain 2.5 million doses for Selvax since January this year.

He said the state government would ensure that Selvax had an adequate supply of Sinovac vaccines for the people of the state.

“We had discussions with Sinovac suppliers in January and February, but this was only approved by the NPRA and the health ministry in June. So there is no issue of Selangor ‘stealing’ or taking vaccine stocks provided for the federal government.

“I hope the Selvax programme will help Selangor achieve herd immunity earlier in October,” he said at a press conference held after inspecting the vaccination process at the Selvax vaccination centre (PPV) at Tropicana Gardens Mall here today.

The Tropicana Gardens Mall facility is the largest PPV in the Selvax programme and can administer 16,000 doses a day.

Earlier, Amirudin announced that the state government had allocated 2.5 million doses for the Selvax programme, of which 500,000 were allocated to the community and 2 million to the industrial sector.

Amirudin said his team was also ready to consider giving vaccines to teenagers aged 12 to 17 if there was excess after Selangor had reached herd immunity, and was also prepared to help vaccinate other states when that mark is met.

Asked about Selangor Barisan Nasional chairman Noh Omar’s allegation that the state government was trying to make a profit by selling vaccines to the industrial sector, Amirudin explained that the price offered was reasonable and cheaper than other programmes in the country.

“The price charged takes into account the cost of bottling, the 5,000 staff needed, preparation of the PPV and so on,” he said.