SIBU: Covid-19 vaccination for individuals with special needs should be held at their care centres throughout Sarawak to prevent those in the category from being left out of the immunisation programme.
State Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said individuals with special needs were already familiar with the surroundings at the care centres, which made it easier for the vaccination process to be carried out.
“They will not be afraid and it will be much easier to calm them down,” she told reporters after checking on the vaccination exercise at the Agape Centre here today.
She said to date, the Agape Centre has been chosen as the location to administer vaccines to those with special needs in Sarawak, an exercise carried out with the cooperation of the Health department, Division Disaster Management Committee and Sibu Hospital.
The three-day programme that kicked off today is also aimed at vaccinating the parents or caretakers of the target group, numbering to about 750 recipients in total.
Fatimah said, apart from individuals with special needs, the Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee (JBPN) and the Sarawak Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force have been asked to consider giving priority to teachers, educators and caregivers in private child care centres and kindergartens.
“Although the Movement Control Order 3.0 is in force, private child care centres and kindergartens have been allowed to operate so that they continue to provide services to children of frontliners.
“As such, it is only reasonable that they should be given priority for the vaccine shots,” she said, while adding that there are 125 kindergartens and 91 child care centres state-wide that have been given permission to operate. — Bernama
