Malaysia will have enough Covid-19 vaccines for 80% of population in six months: Minister

The country has just completed phase one of its vaccine programme, which ran from February to April, for front-liners. PHOTO: REUTERS

PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Eighty per cent of Malaysians will have received their Covid-19 vaccinations by year's end, said Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

Mr Khairy, who is also the coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, said from June, vaccine supply will begin to outstrip the number of registrations for inoculation.

By October, Malaysia will have enough vaccines for 80 per cent of the population, he said, to allay concerns of those waiting to be vaccinated.

Taking to Twitter on Tuesday (April 13), Mr Khairy also shared a graph by the special committee which is ensuring access to Covid-19 vaccines .

The graph summarised the delivery schedule of all the vaccines that Malaysia has obtained, the current status of vaccine registrations and the targets.

"The supply will start to exceed the registrations by June. It will certainly be completed before the end of the year," tweeted Mr Khairy.

The graph also showed that about nine million people had registered for the vaccine so far while supply stood at under three million doses, as at April.

However, from June, the graph shows that supply and demand will move abreast, before the supply line gradually climbs to cover 80 per cent of the population, or just under 27 million, in October.

The country has just completed phase one of the vaccine programme, which ran from February to April, for front-liners.

The second phase - which will prioritise the elderly, those with comorbidity problems and people with disabilities - will start on April 19.

The third phase of the programme will take place in May for low-risk individuals above 18 years old.

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