Elderly take jab like champs
Senior citizens give positive response after first vaccine dose
PETALING JAYA: They came, they saw, they got vaccinated.
Elderly folk turned up in droves at vaccination centres nationwide to get their first Covid-19 vaccine doses in the first eight states to roll out Phase Two of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.
In George Town, three nonagenarians are looking forward to keeping the virus at bay now that they have received their first shot.
Among them was retired construction developer Lee Ah Kim, 97.
“I am the first in my family to get the jab. My son signed me up for the vaccination and drove me here.
“I’m not worried as I am healthy,” he said when met at the Caring Society Complex here yesterday.
Yap Hock Choon, 94, looked calm when he arrived at the centre.
“I woke up at 5am as usual and came here after my breakfast. I wanted to be vaccinated as early as possible as I fall under the high-risk group,” Yap said.
Retired headmaster Khong Ow Chong, 93, was excited to get the jab.
“It felt like any other jab and there was no pain. My sister-in-law helped me to register about a month ago,” he said, adding that his second dose would be on May 12.
Most of the elderly were accompanied by their children, while some came with walking sticks or in wheelchairs.
The second round of the vaccination programme focuses on senior citizens, persons with disabilities and those with chronic diseases.
In Sibu, Tamby Subiman Siong was in an upbeat mood when he arrived for the vaccination.
Tamby, 84, was among 924 senior citizens to get the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at the Indoor Stadium yesterday.
Tamby, a former hospital medical assistant, said he felt all right.
Another recipient, Lau Ai Ting, 84, came with her husband Chiew Sing Ling for the vaccination.
“I feel all right. Maybe the effect has not set in yet but I assume it will not seriously affect my health,” she said minutes after her jab.
In Kota Kinabalu, former Sabah deputy state secretary Datuk Noni Said, 70, said there was no need to be worried as health workers would ensure that the recipients were in good shape and the vaccine was certified to be safe for use.
Noni told Bernama that the briefing by the healthcare workers allayed her fears and she felt calm during her health examination.
Noni was among 250 vaccine recipients at the launch of the second phase of the immunisation programme in Sabah.
Ong Tee Joh, 83, who also received his vaccine shot yesterday, said the public need not fear the vaccination programme, adding that his presence was proof that he had carried out his responsibility as a citizen.
Chai Pun Fah, 82, who suffers from chronic illness, said the healthcare workers treated her very well, which had enabled her to calmly undergo the vaccination process.