Stop Politicising the Vaccination Programme for Support and Popularity

KOTA KINABALU: Do not politicise the vaccination programme to garner the support of the people and to become popular, said former Communications and Multimedia Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak.
He said that the government is doing its best to ensure the country reaches herd immunity by the end of this year.
“This is not a matter of gaining popularity but rather to save the people and the country,” he said.
“We are still not victorious, but we will achieve victory if we are united in the matter,” he said in his latest blog post.
Salleh who is also Sabah’s former Chief Minister said that the threat of Covid-19 should not be viewed lightly.
He added that the numbers of patients with Covid-19 who are being treated at the Intensive Care ward reached 902 cases yesterday.
He also said that the current statistics is showing that Covid-19 infections in the country is becoming worst.
“Hence, the focus now is on the effort of reaching herd immunity through the national vaccination programme,” he said.
He also hopes that that government would be more open to opinions raised and find the best way to speed up the vaccination process.
He urged the government to emulate the methods adopted by other countries such as Europe, China and other Asian countries if they have proven to be effective.
Salleh also stressed that the people’s mentality must be prepared to achieve the 80 percent population target for immunization.
“The government must carry out more campaigns, brochures and announcements on the advantage and need for vaccination to curb the spread of Covid-19,” he said.
And to ensure the success of the vaccination programme, it is imperative that the vaccine supplies are enough.
“I understand that the country is facing problems in getting adequate supply due to the domination of richer countries in the purchase particularly for the popular Pfizer vaccine.
“But I opine that the government should balance the vaccine portfolio by including other brands such as AstraZeneca and Sinovac,” he said.