Penang is being left behind with 21.7% of the adult population vaccinated, and ranked No. 10 out of the 14 states receiving the 2 full vaccination doses as at 31.7.2021. With the daily infections from Penang hitting a record 752 cases on 1 August, there is a need to speed up the vaccination process as the most effective protection against COVID-19 apart from complying with the SOPs.
The rise in daily infections as well as deaths in Penang has heightened fear and intensified demands for faster vaccination. I have received many complaints about the slow vaccination process, with many unhappy of not receiving vaccination appointments even though they had registered since February. Can the RM70 million allocated for the MySejahtera software application not give vaccination appointments first to those that register earlier instead of those that register later?
When going door-to-door to distribute food parcels, many hope for the economy to reopen for them to be allowed to work again or operate their business to earn a living. A quicker vaccination rate would allow the economy to reopen faster. Even though the National Immunisation Programme(PICK) is under the purview of the federal government, the public has urged PH elected representatives to vigorously pursue with the Federal government to increase the vaccination rate.
The Penang state government has decided not to purchase vaccines and choose to rely on PICK instead to achieve herd immunity in the state. The Federal government should respond to the faith entrusted by the state government to ensure early delivery of vaccines, and not let Penang be left behind until Penang is No. 10 out of 14 states in Malaysia in full dosage vaccination rate.
One suggestion is to set up an Operation Surge Capacity or OSC similar to Klang Valley and appoint a Penang MP acceptable to both the state and federal government to co-ordinate the vaccination exercise smoothly. Former Deputy Minister for International Trade and Industry and DAP MP for Bangi Dr Ong Kian Ming was so appointed as the OSC coordinator for the Klang Valley.
Penang is the top three contributor of tax revenues and key export regions for Malaysia and is the only industrialised state in the country with 95% of GDP coming from the manufacturing and services sector. We hope that the relevant authorities can take pro-active measures to speed up vaccination to save lives and livelihood.
Herd immunity should be achieved through inoculation. More than 80% of COVID-19 cases in Penang are those unvaccinated. According to the Penang Health Department, the unvaccinated made up 83% of the total number of cases on 28 July, 82% on 29 July, 79% on 30 July and 80% on 31 July. Vaccination needs to be speeded up to lower the risk to those infected. With the high infection rates, herd immunity may be achieved through both inoculation and infection.