PETALING JAYA, June 15 — A total of 13,500 Persons with Disabilities (PwD) in the Klang Valley will receive the COVID-19 vaccines at the country’s first drive-thru vaccination facility from tomorrow.
National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the vaccination centre located at Menara Sime Darby Plantation, Ara Damansara, targets to administer 200 doses of vaccine per day.
“This is the first drive-thru vaccination centre for the disabled in the country and even the world. I am confident that this pilot project will be successful and we will increase the number of recipients and the rate for the daily doses in the future,” he told reporters after inspecting the preparations at the vaccination centre here today.
Khairy said the drive-thru facility could be a temporary reference before the government issues a guideline for other states to set up their own drive-thru vaccination centres specially designed for the PwD community to get their COVID-19 vaccines without leaving their vehicles.
He said it was the brainchild of OKU Sentral president Senator Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi in collaboration with Ara Damansara Medical Centre, Sime Darby Plantation Berhad and other government agencies.
Meanwhile, Ras Adiba said OKU Sentral had received nearly 16,000 applications from the disabled but had to shortlist 13,500 recipients, adding the drive-thru vaccination facility was set up for the comfort of PwD from all categories as well as to expedite the vaccination process for the group who are in dire need of the COVID-19 vaccines.
She said she hoped the government would provide more vaccine doses and set up more such facilities for PwDs nationwide.
The drive-thru vaccination centre, which will operate from 9 am to 5 pm, allows disabled people, accompanied by a caregiver, to get the vaccine in the comfort of their vehicles.
