Association says vaccine fears high among elderly parents, urges children to allay concerns
SIBU: Children with elderly parents should help ensure their parents are vaccinated against Covid-19 by explaining its benefits to them, said Sarawak China Graduates Alumni Association chairman Dr Wong Siu Eing.
Wong said in a statement that he had received feedback that many elderly parents were reluctant to get vaccinated due to their doubts and suspicion about the vaccines, hence forcing their children to cancel their appointments.
He said the emergence of the various Covid-19 variants recently had also cast doubt on the vaccines and brought fear to the people on the effectiveness of the vaccination.
“Some elderly parents even accused their children of deliberately telling them to go for the vaccination, hoping that they will die early,” he said.
He said such negative perception should be cast aside and the children could use the vaccination against smallpox as an example to convince their parents on its benefits.
Wong said there are about 200,000 elderly people in Sibu and many had yet to get vaccinated due not only to their misunderstanding over the effects of the vaccines, but also the vaccine’s supply.
He said it was vital that the government had sufficient supply of the vaccines so that the vaccination process could be sped up.
“Ensure that we have sufficient supply of the vaccines and also speed up with the vaccination process. Otherwise, it will be a dream to even achieve the goal of getting 70 per cent of the population vaccinated by August this year,” he said.
Wong also suggested the government introduce incentive measures to encourage the people to get vaccinated against Covid-19 virus.
He said the government of some countries like Israel had issued `green passports’ to allow those who were vaccinated to participate in social, cultural and sport activities.
“In China, the Chinese government is giving away eggs to encourage the people, especially the elderly, to go for the vaccination,” he said.
Wong said it was imperative that the government speed up the vaccination process to achieve herd immunity soonest.
“Once we achieve herd immunity, the people can live their normal life and the country can also attain greater economic development.”
He said those who are eligible for the vaccination should not hesitate to take the jab.
“For the sake of your family members and those who are not able to take the vaccination such as pregnant women, children, breastfeeding mothers, severely ill patients and people with low immune system, by all means, go to take the vaccination.”
Wong added that the government could rope in community leaders, nongovernmental organisations and even the private sectors to help the people to get registered.
“The government should not just rely on the people to register but should also come up with ways and persuasive policies to get them registered and remove public doubts about the vaccine.”