SANDAKAN: The Ministry of Health’s (MOH) recommendation that at-risk groups such as those with chronic diseases need to take the Covid-19 vaccine has convinced a paralysed woman who is in the process of recovering, to get vaccinated immediately.
Wheel-chair bound Sa’adia Arsad, 35, attended the briefing held by the Covid-19 Immunisation Special Task Force (CITF) under the Sandakan Outreach Programme in Kampung Segaliud, about 65 km from here.
She said the briefing had increased her confidence that the vaccine would not hinder her recovery process.
“I still have to undergo physiotherapy treatment at the hospital because the doctor told me that if I continue to do so I can walk again and the vaccine will not get in the way of my recovery process.
“I admit with the current Covid-19 pandemic situation it worries me to get out of the house and limits my hopes for a speedy recovery. So, this (vaccine) is an opportunity that I cannot turn down,” she told Bernama recently.
The mother of three said she became paralysed from the waist down after falling from the fifth floor of her rented apartment in Kuala Lumpur while fetching clothes on the balcony in July 2018.
On the CITF programme, Sa’adia, who returned to her village a year after the incident, said many village folks, including her husband, told her she was eligible to receive the vaccine.
She admitted to having been afraid of the complications she would experience after receiving the vaccine due to her condition but was still eager to attend the briefing.
“I am satisfied with the explanation given and I did not think twice about registering as a vaccine recipient,“ she said.
Sekong Community Development Leader Hazulizah Md Dani said the response from Kampung Segaliud residents was very encouraging as nearly 80 per cent of the villagers decided to register after the briefing.
“Most people doubt the content of the vaccine whether it is halal or not, not to mention chronic disease patients who worry about the side effects of the vaccine. After explaining everything, I did not expect the response to be extraordinary, in fact, some heads of families asked for more registration forms to take home so that they could register other family members who did not attend the CITF programme,” he said.
Segaliud Village Head Matassan Mutahir, who is committed to ensuring the village folks are protected from the Covid-19 infection, said through the CITF programme, about 500 out of a total of nearly 700 residents had registered for the vaccine.
He had also asked the Sandakan Municipal Council for a programme on vaccine safety to be held in the village to hear about the benefits of the vaccine from the MOH.
“I also ask the MOH to administer the vaccination in this village because most residents are not able to go to hospitals or vaccination centres, especially during the Movement Control Order,“ he said. — Bernama
