SIBU, May 27: Social activist Hii Tiong Huat is urging those who have not registered for their dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to do so as soon as possible.
“I have heard that many people are afraid of vaccinations, for fear of the instability of vaccines. However they are deeply afraid of getting infected with the virus. As vaccination helps to create herd immunity, my message to them is not to let this fear overcome them but to sign up for the vaccine,” he advised.
Hii also called on the government to speed up the rate of vaccination.
“The speed of the virus mutation is so fast that people will be caught off guard. I hope that the government can quickly make more vaccines available and vaccinate the people,” he said.
He added that he was relieved and overjoyed after being receiving the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on May 25.
Earlier in January, Hii was rejected as a volunteer for the Malaysia Vaccine Support Volunteers (MyVAC) programme, which aims to help make the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme a success.
“In January this year, I offered myself for the programme. However I received the bad news that I had to be excluded,” he said.
Hii, 70, said the results of a health check then revealed that he was allergic to alcohol which disqualified him for the programme.
“The world came crashing down on me after receiving the sad news as I thought that I was also not fit to receive the vaccine against Covid-19,” he recalled.
Tiong, who is currently self-employed, had then checked his status via the MySejahtera app on May 15, and saw that his name was among the recipients eligible to receive the vaccination.
His vaccination centre was at PMG Medical Clinic in Permai.
“When I turned up at the vaccination centre, I was worried that they would reject me based on my experience in January. But I passed all the medical check-ups and was vaccinated subsequently,” he said.
He had not experienced any complication after the vaccination and is scheduled to receive his second dose on June 15. — DayakDaily
