Johor targeting 80% herd immunity by October

JOHOR BARU: Johor is targeting 80% herd immunity by October, which may lead to the reopening of its border with Singapore.

Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad said the reopening of the Malaysia and Singapore border here was dependent on the daily Covid-19 cases and standard operating procedures.

“Vaccination needs to be expedited so that it can bring down the number of Covid-19 cases faster and rehabilitate lives and economy in Johor, which is the biggest economic contributor in Malaysia.

“The state has targeted 80% herd immunity within the next four months. If it is successful, then it will allow us to discuss with Singapore about travelling between the two nations, ” he tweeted yesterday.

According to the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force, a total of 205,419 individuals have received their first doses while another 97,983 have been given the second jab in Johor, as of Friday.

Based on statistics by Our World in Data, Singapore has fully vaccinated 31% of its total population with 1.77 million there having been fully vaccinated as of Friday.

On Thursday, Hasni said the state aimed to acquire 500,000 doses of vaccines from Singapore or China.

The state was banking on its good relations with the two countries to secure the additional doses, which could benefit at least 250,000 people.

On the move to get vaccines through the ImmuPlan Johor initiative, which was launched on April 20 to secure 100,000 doses for economic frontliners, including those working in Singapore, Hasni said that as at May 31, a total of 109,581 applications had been received, with at least 80% of them meeting the criteria.

“Those who have registered, please be patient as the state is doing its best to get the vaccines soon, ” he said.