KOTA KINABALU: Sabah has reached 40% vaccination rate of targeted adult population on National Day, as the state government pushes for herd immunity by the end of October.

       State Covid-19 spokesman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun (pic) said the first dose vaccination rate in the state is nearing 60%.

       "Sabah is slated to receive a batch of 608,400 Pfizer vaccine doses on Thursday (Sept 2), and 134,000 Sinovac doses on Saturday (Sept 4).

       "Barring any more vaccine supply interruptions, yes we can achieve (herd immunity by the targeted timeline)," he said on Wednesday (Sept 1).

       Sabah registered 2,430 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, a drop of 164 infections from 2,594 the day before.

       However, several districts saw an increase, including in Kota Kinabalu, which recorded 622 cases compared to 567 previously, and Tawau with 190 reported new infections compared to 168 previously.

       Kinabatangan recorded a staggering jump from 26 cases on Tuesday to 165 today.

       A new cluster dubbed Kinabatangan 2 at Kinabatangan district contributed 122 to Wednesday's cases, added Masidi.

       "Meanwhile, other districts showing significant drop in cases are Keningau with 34 cases compared to 138 previously, Sandakan with 260 cases from 320 the day before, Papar with 196 new infections compared to 264 previously, and Penampang with 183 new cases compared to 268 previously," said Masidi.

       He added that 1,525 infections today are backlog cases which were registered late between two and over five days.