JOHOR BARU: Johor's vaccination rate is expected to get a boost from the acquisition of two million doses within this month.

       Tunku Mahkota Johor Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim said he had a meeting with National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin at the Johor Royal Polo Club regarding the vaccination rate and vaccine supply in Johor.

       Also present at the meeting held on Sunday (Aug 8) were Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad, state Tourism, Youth and Sports Committee chairman Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi and State Secretary Datuk Azmi Rohani.

       “As a result of discussions, Johor will receive two million doses of vaccine in August with the first week seeing 324,940 doses, the second week 564,234 doses, the third week 340,150 doses, and the fourth week 796,344 doses.

       “I also decreed for the state government to open a special drive-through vaccine dispensing centre (PPV) at Arena Larkin Johor Baru to for those with disabilities to get their vaccine doses,” he said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

       Tunku Ismail was hopeful that this announcement would result in the state achieving herd immunity in the near future.

       On Friday (Aug 6), Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the Federal Government will sort out the vaccine issues faced by the state after the matter was highlighted by Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar and Tunku Ismail recently.

       He said he had asked Khairy and Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba to look into the situation in the state.

       Muhyiddin admitted that the vaccination rate in Johor was still quite low at around 20% of the adult population, compared to some states that had already achieved 60%.

       “The two ministers will study it. Recently, they discussed it with Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad and the doses will increase from 1.3 million to 1.5 million at the initial stage.

       “We had targeted to increase the supply of doses to 1.7 million to be sent to Johor to help spike the vaccination rate from 50,000 to 60,000 daily,” he said.

       He added that the increase in supply would help Johor ensure that 40% of its adult population gets vaccinated before National Day on Aug 31.

       Muhyiddin, who is Pagoh MP, said he had also instructed both ministers to seek an audience with His Majesty and Tunku Ismail to explain the matter.

       He added that the problem was due to supplies not arriving on schedule, which caused the committees under the ministers to buy extra doses under companies such as Pharmaniaga to ensure that there was no lapse.

       “In terms of supply, there should not be any problem as we have ordered more than 130% of what the country needs, which means there should be a surplus of doses.

       “But a number of doses that we ordered did not arrive on schedule. For example, we ordered one million doses but when (shipments) arrived, we only got half a million,” he said, adding that this was due to the global high demand for vaccines and that neighbouring countries were also facing similar problems.

       On Wednesday, Sultan Ibrahim said the vaccination rate in Johor needed to improve.

       As at Aug 4, information on the Special Committee on Covid-19 Vaccine Supply website indicated that 18.3% of the adult population in Johor were fully vaccinated while 46.5% have gotten at least one dose.