PETALING JAYA: There is a lot of red tape in the way of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme, claims Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.

       He said full mobilisation of the private and public health sectors would have led to a faster vaccination rate in the country.

       He said bureaucracy was hindering private healthcare facilities and other government bodies from helping to speed up the mass immunisation process.

       "If a private hospital can perform something as complex as heart surgery, it doesn't make sense that it isn't authorised to jab people with a needle," he said in Parliament on Monday (July 26).

       The government could also delegate vaccinations to the Defence and Higher Education Ministries as they can easily identify those under their purview to be vaccinated, said the Semporna MP.

       Shafie, who is also Parti Warisan Sabah president, said the government should also think of other ways to vaccinate people quickly, such as offering doses to those who had tested negative after taking a Covid-19 swab.

       "For those who were positive, they should be offered a dose of the vaccine once they have completed their quarantine before being allowed to go home," he said.