KL, Selangor residents looking forward to receiving jabs

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians who managed to register for the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine heaved a sigh of relief at the prospect of finally being inoculated.

A couple in Kuala Lumpur, Timothy Anthony, 27, and Ushar Daniele, 31, were among those who managed to secure slots for the AstraZeneca vaccine.

They said they spent half an hour on the website before their registration went through.

Anthony said he wanted to get vaccinated as soon as possible due to the nature of his job.

Anthony, who owns the Orale restaurant in Petaling Jaya, said the vaccine would provide peace of mind, especially to his customers and workers.

“The company cannot afford to close down or have any staff member fall sick at the moment,” he said.

Ushar, a freelance journalist, said the vaccine was a must for her due to the hazards of her job.

She frequently attends press conferences and also goes for video shoots, which are considered high risk as she interacts with a lot of people.

“This is not about me alone, though. By getting vaccinated, I am safe from possible Covid-19 transmissions and also safe from transmitting the virus,” she said.

Consultant Abdulmuiz Aziz, 39, from Kuala Lumpur, said he had set a reminder and tried to register for the vaccine at noon.

“But the dates and location slots were unavailable. After a few minutes of my wife and I refreshing the website, the slots appeared again.

“But when we tried to submit our details, the page did not respond. My wife said some of her friends got through, so we both refreshed the page again, retried the registration and finally got through.

“We booked different slots so that one of us can take care of our children. My wife also registered her 70-year-old mother on the same day as her inoculation slot.”

Abdulmuiz said he was relieved at being able to register for the vaccine.

He said the benefits of getting vaccinated far outweighed the risk of potential blood clots, which some people had associated with the shots.

“I sought opinions from doctor friends. Half of the United Kingdom population was given the AstraZeneca vaccine and its caseloads have significantly dropped, which shows that the vaccine is effective against Covid-19 infections.

“I can’t wait to get vaccinated and return to being able to meet people. I feel Malaysia should speed up our vaccination rate as the rate right now is too slow.”

Another Malaysian, who wished to be known only as Annie, 39, said she managed to secure an appointment on May 30 at Universiti Malaya.

Annie, who works as a therapist, said she opted to register for the vaccine to ensure that she was protected against the virus as she works with children.

“My husband is a doctor and he has been vaccinated. He assured me that it’s fine (to proceed with the AstraZeneca vaccine) and I also received assurance from friends in the medical field.

“Besides, I work with children and need to come in contact with parents and children. Therefore, I want to get protection for myself and my family.”

Another Malaysian, who wished to be known only as Lavinia, 32, said she felt relieved that she would be vaccinated soon.

“Hopefully, I will not experience any extreme side effects. It took me 20 minutes to register as the website kept crashing. Initially, the slots did not appear on the website and when they started showing up, I could not proceed to the confirmation page.

“After many tries, I finally got a confirmation for a slot on May 6 at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur.”

She added that it was ironic many praised the efforts of the country’s frontliners in the medical industry, but at the same time raised doubts about vaccines developed by experts.

Given the high number of Covid-19 cases, she said it was better to be vaccinated and receive some form of protection than none at all.