PEOPLE below the age of 40 are hesitant about getting vaccinated against Covid-19 because they fear the potential side effects.

This was discovered by several DAP lawmakers who set up mobile counters at their respective constituencies to encourage people to sign up for vaccination.

Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng said he noticed there was still some hesitancy towards vaccination among those aged below 40, adding that those belonging to this age group made up to about 80% of vaccine-hesitant individuals.

He said their reluctance towards getting vaccinated is out of fear of potential side effects while others were reluctant because they felt they were being used as “lab rats”.

“Others are simply waiting for those around them to get inoculated and develop immunity against the virus so they don’t have to get vaccinated themselves,” Lim told The Malaysian Insight.

“People over 60 years’ old are willing to register for the vaccination as long as their doubts are cleared and questions are answered. Some even said they were willing to pay for the vaccination,” he said.

Lim said the mobile counters are helpful to senior citizens who are not tech savvy and are unable to register via MySejahtera.

He had initially set up a counter at his service centre but the response was rather poor as there was only one registration per day.

“We decided to set up mobile counters at housing areas as well as other public areas and the response improved tremendously,” Lim said.

He advised members of the public not to be misled by fake news and urged the government to step up awareness campaigns on the benefits of vaccination.

“The government should explain that the vaccine is safe, and many leaders in the world have already been vaccinated. If people continue to be hesitant, the pandemic will not end,” he said, adding his team has also gone to old folks’ homes in Kepong to get senior citizens registered.

Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai said his team was mobilised to coffee shops and markets around his constituency to get people to sign up.

“We saw promising responses in each round with an average of 200 people registering. Those who came to register were mainly the elderly because some people who did not live with younger family members did not know how to register online,” he said.

Tan said several senior citizens were curious on the next steps to take after registering for vaccination.

“I shared my own experience with them. I did not experience any side effects even a week after receiving my jab. I hope they understand that vaccination is necessary to ensure the health and safety of their families, relatives and friends.”

He added that his team took the time to explain the benefits of the vaccine to those who were hesitant.

Vaccine brands a concern

Teratai state rep Bryan Lai Wai Chong said some people were hesitant towards certain vaccine brands.

“They are mostly concerned about the origin of the vaccine, whether it is from China or the United States, but we can’t decide on which vaccine is administered. This is decided by the government.”

He said some people were also worried about whether their elderly parents could take the vaccine due to their age.

“We are not doctors, and there is no way to give any affirmative answers. We can only encourage them to report their health status when they register.”

Based on his observations, about 80% of people who enquired about the process eventually signed up for it.

In addition to mobile counters, his service centre has also set up fixed counters in the Taman Muda market in Ampang.

“There are a lot of people in the market, and the response is very encouraging. There are at least 100 to 200 people registering every day.

“But I believe the pace will slow down going forward, as most people have already registered, and those who don’t want to register will not register. But there will still be people who are on the fence,” he said.

“When the community (registration) demand decreases, we will also start to reduce the counters,” he said.

The government has projected that up to 80% of the country’s population will have to be immunised in order to develop herd immunity against Covid-19.

The first phase of the national vaccination drive, which began on February 24, is currently underway. More than 500,000 front-liners will be vaccinated in this phase.

The second phase, which is to begin next month, will involve high-risk groups such as senior citizens, people with pre-existing health conditions and the differently abled.

The third phase of the programme, which will begin in May, will involve adults aged 18 and above. This phase will end in February 2022.

The government is targeting to immunise 9.4 million people in the second phase and 13.7 million people in the final phase.

Coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme Khairy Jamaluddin said yesterday the wait-and-see attitude is one of the reasons for the low number of sign-ups.

He said many people are waiting to see the impacts of the jab on those who have been inoculated, before deciding they have the confidence to get vaccinated.

Khairy said many rural folk are unaware of the immunisation programme. He is, however, confident that the number of registrations will pick up in time.

As of Sunday, a total of 6.15 million people had registered for the programme while 412,342 people had received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Khairy said the government will be stepping up on outreach efforts to encourage more people to sign up. – March 23, 2021.