WITH phase two of the Covid-19 vaccination programme starting today, pensioners and senior citizens said they were looking forward to receiving their jabs and expressed confidence in the national Covid-19 immunisation programme.

Some of their peers who had received their jabs during phase one also shared their experiences with The Malaysian Insight, hoping to prepare the new recipients.

In the second phase, the government is targeting inoculation of 9.4 million people comprising high-risk groups such as the elderly, those with chronic health conditions and disabled people.

Wang Hong Kok, 70, a former principal lecturer at Tunku Abdul Rahman University College and current vice president of the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) said he has no hesitation to take the vaccination.

“I believe in science. I trust that, before any new vaccine is introduced in Malaysia, it must have been tested and proven to be safe,” he told the Malaysian Insight.

He said he also has faith in the government’s decision.

“No government will take risk if the proposed vaccination is not effective. Let us respond positively to the government’s call.

“The purpose of vaccination is, in the end, to protect us and everyone who is in close contact with us. I am confident the vaccine will protect me from contracting the Covid-19 virus.”

Likewise, 81-year-old Yew Peng Chong, a retired civil servant from the department of survey and mapping in the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, felt the same way.

“After reading so much about it, hearing news about it, it’s best that we take precaution, so one of the options is to go for this vaccine injection,” he said.

Yew observed it to be a global trend and that large majorities are rooting for the vaccination.

“It’s a choice that we have to follow so that we won’t spread the virus to others, in case we do have this virus in our body system. As a precaution, I choose to go for the vaccination.

“Then hopefully my body will accept it, will protect it, that’s my intention.”

Yew added that, though he and his wife no longer have a large circle of friends, the couple had encouraged their peers to register for the vaccine.

“If our friends approached us, I will also advise them to go for the vaccination because that is to protect not only them but the society too.

“This is a good step that the government is taking, a good measure so that everybody can achieve herd immunity.”

Co-ordinating minister for the national Covid-19 immunisation programme Khairy Jamaluddin previously announced that the Sinovac vaccine will be administered to senior citizens.

He also said last week that 81,776 vaccination appointments have been set for those who have registered in the second phase.

The government urged those who have yet to confirm their attendance for the appointments to do it soon.

Have no fear

Dr Christopher Lee, 61, president of the Malaysian AIDS Council, is a front-liner who was vaccinated during phase one. He said that the vaccination process was safe.

“I only had a sore left shoulder from the injection for two days – and the pain was more prominent after the second dose, which was to be expected.”

Lee said the pain following the second injection was fairly tolerable after he took two doses of Paracetamol.

“Compared with the severe illness that we have seen among the elderly and those with chronic medical illnesses, the vaccine side effects I had experienced are really negligible.”

He said there was no question that vaccines save lives and is the country’s best hope.

“The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has recently been linked to rare blood clots associated with low platelet counts, which has resulted in a few deaths.

“However, these have been rare with clots occurring at a rate of four per 1 million and deaths at one per 1 million.

“The World Health Organisation (WHO) stresses that the benefits overwhelmingly outweigh the risk especially in older patients,” Lee said.

Universiti Putra Malaysia’s medical epidemiologist Associate Professor Dr Malina Osman, currently in her 50s, has also been vaccinated against Covid-19.

She said her experiences were similar to the previous vaccinations she received for diseases such as tuberculosis and Hepatitis B.

“Just follow the medical advice, get adequate rest and get checked for general examination, blood pressure, heart rate etc.”

Dr Samuel Ong, in his late 50s, consultant cardiologist at Sunway Medical Centre, also recalled his vaccination process as smooth, orderly and efficient.

“I received my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on March 10, and got my second dose three weeks later on March 31 at Sunway Medical Centre.

“I brought along my identity card, vaccination card, consent form and phone with MySejahtera app. All notifications and confirmations were through the MySejahtera app.

“There were seven triage stops, and movement from one to the other ran like clockwork. All personnel manning the stations knew their roles.”

After the first dose, Ong said he rested at home with an afternoon nap, took an evening walk and two Paracetamol pills prior to sleeping early.

“After dinner, I felt a swollen lymph node in the neck, on the side of the jab. The lymph node felt a little tender to touch. This is not unexpected and there was no fever, chills or severe pains.

“I woke up the next morning feeling much better and went to work as usual. I was able to run a very busy morning clinic.

“There was still some neck soreness, albeit very much less. The lymph node is still present and tender, but I had expected it would subside in the days to come.”

As for his second dose, he recounted feeling light-headed about an hour after the jab.

“I checked my blood pressure and it was 118-110/65-67 mmHg and pulse rate about 86bpm.

“I also felt hungry and decided then to have a light lunch in the hospital canteen, which I felt better after the meal and two cups of plain water.

“I also did a spot of birding – albeit sitting down in the shade – for an hour in the afternoon.

“On top of which, I finished half a carton of orange juice to make sure I was well hydrated in view of my earlier light-headedness.”

He said he did not experience a swollen neck lymph node again but instead experienced swelling over the left rear shoulder muscle at the injection site, which subsided in about a day.

All in all, he reported no major side effects from his two jabs. – April 19, 2021.