Vaccination challenges in rural Sabah, Sarawak 02 Mar 2021 / 12:09 H. Pix for illustration purposes. ALTHOUGH Malaysia has a plan to inoculate more than 80% of the population (nearly 27 million out of 32 million Malaysians) against Covid-19 by March 2022, there is no clear indication on how the vaccines are going to be distributed throughout rural Sabah and Sarawak. This is a valid concern as in the rural areas of Sabah and Sarawak more than a third of the population continue to live beyond 5km from any kind of health facility. Due to the lack of specialists and medical equipment, patients seeking treatments or follow-up treatments are often forced to refer to another public hospital that can cater to their respective medical needs.