Fire helicopter transports vaccine into flood-affected interior of Sarawak
KUCHING: Fire and rescue service personnel were hoisted to deliver Covid-19 vaccines to a flood-affected vaccination center in the remote Baram region of Sarawak.
State Fire and Rescue Director Khirudin Drahman said the helicopter was unable to land in Long Jegan due to flooding in the area.
âHowever, we were able to deliver the vaccines by pulling our team down.
“It is our commitment to ensure that the vaccination program in Sarawak is implemented as planned,” he said on Friday (July 16th).
Khirudin said the mission to Long Jegan was part of a scheduled delivery of vaccines to rural vaccination centers in the Baram region, including Long Teru, Ulu Teru, Long Teran and Long Luyang.
He said the delivery went smoothly despite the challenges of the flooding and the soft landing field.
The team took off from Miri at 9:20 a.m. and returned at 11:20 a.m. after delivering the vaccines to the five sites.
Meanwhile, the Miri Divisional Disaster Management Committee said vaccination centers in Long Lama and Long Jegan were temporarily closed due to flooding.
He said the Mulu vaccination center, which was previously closed due to flooding, has now reopened while in Long Luyang, villagers can travel by boat to reach the vaccination center.
“Other rural clinics in the Miri division are due to administer vaccines on Saturday (July 17) and will assess the situation in the morning,” the committee said in a statement.