LOCAL RESIDENTS EAGER TO GET COVID-19 VACCINE
- Wartawan Nabalu News
- Feb 23, 2021
- 3 min read
23 Feb 2021
By Ilona Andrew and Marryan Razan
KOTA KINABALU: Covid-19 vaccine will arrive in Sabah on Thursday and local residents have expressed excitement to receive the jab.
For them, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine could be the last hope to end the pandemic that has been going on for more than a year, once and for all.
The first phase of the vaccination programme in Sabah is expected to begin on March 4 and the first recipient of the vaccine will be State Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, followed by the state's frontliners and essential workers.
One of the local residents who expressed eagerness to be vaccinated is a 25-year-old sales representative from Papar.
While he is aware that he might only receive the jab on the third phase as the first phase will only involve the frontliners, Alvin Dylan said he is prepared for it.
"I am ready to take it (the vaccine) and it is my hope that everyone else will too.
"I understand that some people are scared to be vaccinated as they are concerned over the possible negative side effects but for me, we have no reason to be fearful," he told Nabalu News.
Alvin also believed that the possibility of the vaccine generating severe side effects is very rare, adding that the only death case related to the vaccine was reported in Norway which involved a senior citizen with serious comorbidities.
"If we want to break the chain of Covid-19, this is it. The vaccine is our last hope," he added.
However, Jenne Lajiun opined that the vaccine should also be given to media practitioners in the first phase of vaccination.
As a reporter herself, she said media practitioners should receive the jab as they also have a high risk of contracting the virus since their job requires meeting people on a daily basis.
"As a media practitioner, we not only need to protect ourselves but also the people around us since we regularly meet all kinds of people while on duty.
"Sometimes a person who has contracted the virus does not exhibit symptoms at all and this is worrying," she said, adding that media practitioners are also considered as frontliners.
Meanwhile, the president of Sabah Chartered Volunteer Society (SCVS), Prof Dr Benjamin Yapp, all levels of society should welcome the government's laudable initiative.
He said the effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been proven to help one protect a person as the vaccine trains the immune system to fight the coronavirus. "The vaccine is safe and the public is encouraged to get their jabs in order to protect themselves from getting infected," the 73-year-old added. For two police officers who only wanted to be known as Winter and Wan, they said everyone should get themselves immunised in order to reduce infections and free up resources to tackle other health conditions.
"As essential workers, we are prepared to protect ourselves and get vaccinated in order to serve the nation while also protecting them from the possibility of Covid-19 transmission. "We are exposed to the risk of contracting the virus since we meet people everyday while on duty. At least after receiving the immunisation, we can conduct our responsibilities without having the fear of being infected," said the Sarawakian officers.
The two officers in their 20s who were posted in Sabah for their cops duty however revealed that some of their older friends expressed concern over the effectiveness of the vaccine.
"Most of them who were worried are those with underlying health conditions. But for me, there is no need to be afraid as countless researches have been conducted for the vaccine.
"I have read about an analysis report which proved that the Pfizer-BioNTech could reduce the risk of catching infection by more than 70 per cent after a first dose. "I believe the vaccines are working and I encourage everyone to at least consider taking the jab, for the sake of everyone's health," said Winter. Wan meanwhile advised those who are hesitance to do a lot of readings from reliable resources on the benefits of the vaccine. "There is no need to be scared, this is our hope, after all, to fight off Covid-19 pandemic," he said.
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