Sabah health director Dr Rose Nani Mudin said the single-dose CanSino vaccines will help accelerate the state’s inoculation programme, which has seen more than 1.46 million getting their first jab and 866,228 others completing both doses as of Monday.

“A total of 53.3% of the adult population have received their first shot and 31.4% their second shot,” she said in a statement.

Chief minister Hajiji Noor was reported to have said the state government had requested that it be prioritised to receive the CanSino vaccine and asked the federal government to provide 1.8 million doses of the vaccine.

Rose Nani said the state will continue to ramp up the vaccination programme by intensifying its efforts in the rural areas and opening more walk-in vaccination centres.

In urging everyone to get vaccinated, she said the department’s data showed that 80% to 90% of Covid-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) were unvaccinated individuals.