by BERNAMA / pic source: CHOW KON YEOW FB

THE Selangor government yesterday contributed 20,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to Penang in an effort to vaccinate the rest of the population in the northern state.

Penang Chief Minister (CM) Chow Kon Yeow thanked Selangor for helping the state to speed up its vaccination rate in an effort to break the chain of infection.

“In the spirit of the National Day, the Selangor government has graciously donated 20,000 doses of vaccine to the Penang government for free and this is also a sign of solidarity between the people of Selangor and the state in the fight against Covid-19.

“I hope this effort can help speed up efforts to achieve herd immunity. As of yesterday, a total of 1.14 million Penang residents have received the first dose of the vaccine, which is 64.6% of the adult population, while 55.7% have been fully vaccinated,” he said yesterday.

Chow was speaking to reporters after Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari had handed over the 20,000 doses of vaccine at the Seberang Perai Arena Convention Centre’s vaccination centre in Bukit Mertajam.

Amirudin said the vaccine contribution to Penang was not made on a one-off basis, but would depend on the state’s needs and current situation of vaccine supply.

“However, if the situation in Penang stabilises, it may be a one-off contribution. I was also told by the CM (Chow) that the Ministry of Health (MoH) has contacted him and promised a steady supply of vaccines,” Amirudin said.

Earlier, the Penang government announced that Selangor had agreed to lend it 200,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine, with Penang Health, Agriculture, Agro-based Industry and Rural Development Committee chairman Dr Norlela Ariffin reportedly saying that so far, 225,226 Penangites have not received the first dose of the vaccine, with the majority being those in the Seberang Perai Tengah district.