KOTA KINABALU: The Public-Private Partnership Immunisation Programme (PIKAS) in Sabah kicked off on Saturday targeting 18,000 workers from 407 manufacturing factories registered with the State Government here.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Haji Noor said initially the workers are from factories located in Kota Kinabalu and nearby districts of Putatan, Penampang, Papar and Tuaran.
“Through PIKAS, the government will roll out the vaccines for free while the private sector manages the vaccine administration centre (PPV) including private medical services.
“The cost of managing the PPV will be borne by the private sector to minimise government funding,” he said after observing the first day of PIKAS PPV operations at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) here this morning.
There are two types of PPV being used under PIKAS, that is Public PPV involving convention and exhibition centres including hotels, and the On-Site PPV being placed at factory premises.
Hajiji said employers will be paying for their employees vaccination costs and they are not allowed to transfer such costs by deducting the employees salary even though the employee might no longer be with the company after getting the first dose.
“While PIKAS is being implemented, the government is committed to ensuring the most vulnerable groups are vaccinated and those who have registered under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) remain a priority,” he said.
Hajiji said companies interested to participate in the PIKAS programme could get more information and register online through www.miti.gov.my.
An initiative by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), PIKAS was launched to speed up the country’s vaccination process with the aim of vaccinating at least two million workers in the manufacturing sector by the third quarter of this year.
Launched as Phase 4 of PICK, PIKAS was introduced following suggestions from the industries, chambers of commerce as well as small and medium enterprises wishing to speed up the vaccination process of workers at their workplace.
The Chief Minister commended MITI, Sabah for the PIKAS launch in Sabah and expressed confidence that herd immunity in the manufacturing sector can be achieved so as to speed up the state’s and country’s economic recovery.-pr/BNN
