By Sheeda Fathil
SHAH ALAM, June 10 — The Selangor government has conducted the free mass screening programme alongside the Covid-19 immunisation campaigns in preparation to protect the younger generation who are not qualified yet to receive the coronavirus shot.
Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said health control efforts have to continue even when the country has reached the herd immunity target.
“Taking the United Kingdom as an example and how they have successfully achieved 56 per cent of its people inoculated but they still continue with public and targeted screenings with over 1.8 million people tested to date.
“Therefore, even though herd immunity is successfully achieved, it still does not cover 100 per cent of the population as there are groups that cannot be vaccinated, such as those aged below 18.
“Let’s say we do reach herd immunity, the government allows crossing borders and then Covid-19 will again make a comeback. So, we cannot claim victory so soon and must remain disciplined in complying with the SOPs (standard operating procedures),” said Amirudin during a live talkshow titled ‘Kita Selangor Package 2.0: Strategy to Manage Covid-19, Strengthen Economy’ on Astro Awani last night.
The state administration has actively executed the free community screening programme throughout 56 state constituencies from May 8 until today.
In the Kita Selangor Package 2.0 announced yesterday, the Selangor Covid-19 Vaccination Programme (SCVP) was introduced in efforts to accelerate towards achieving herd immunity among the state’s population, with a total financial implication of RM200 million and expected to begin in July.
