KUALA LUMPUR: The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme will be beefed up with the aim of getting all Malaysian adults to receive two Covid-19 vaccine doses by October, says Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

       Muhyiddin, who was briefing Parliament on the National Recovery Plan yesterday, said initial estimates by the government were that 80% of adult residents in Malaysia would receive the complete vaccination dosage by the first quarter of 2022.

       “God willing, the national programme will continue to be strengthened so that the target of 100% adult residents receiving two doses of vaccines can be achieved earlier in October this year.

       “In fact, the government has achieved the capacity of 500,000 doses per day now,” he added.

       Muhyiddin said so far, the government had ordered 79.9 million doses of vaccines and of that number, 25.2 million doses had arrived in Malaysia.

       “It is estimated that we will receive 37.3 million doses in August, 21.9 million doses in the fourth quarter of 2021 and the remaining doses in the first quarter of 2022,” he said.

       At the same time, Muhyiddin said under the newly-launched Operation Surge Capacity, all adult residents in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, estimated to be 6.1 million people, would receive at least one vaccine dose by the start of August.

       Since the national plan was implemented, he said 16 million doses had been administered, with 11 million people receiving the first dose and about five million people receiving two doses.

       Meanwhile, the government is aware that the current spike in Covid-19 cases is due to the rapid spread of the virus in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and parts of Negri Sembilan.

       To address the spike in these areas, Muhyiddin said the Greater Klang Valley Special Task Force would cooperate with state governments to get the situation under control.

       “Most importantly, they must ensure that hospitals have adequate capacity to function efficiently,” he said.

       Later in his speech, Muhyiddin denied that the government had neglected the people, adding that everyone must come together in these challening times.

       He also urged Malaysians to abide by the standard operating procedure and get vaccinated as soon as possible.

       “It doesn’t matter what brand the vaccine is, as it is still useful to prevent dangerous side effects.

       “Vaccination is the best way to save lives,” he added.