TAMBUNAN, June 13 — The Covid-19 Vaccination Outreach Programme in Kampung Pahu, here, today, saw over 500 residents registering for the vaccination exceeding the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force’s (CITF) initial target of 100 to 200 people.
Despite having to go through winding roads to get to the village which is located on the hillside area near Mount Kinabalu, almost 60km from here, the villagers remained high spirited as they signed up for the vaccine.
Tambunan district officer Jumain Abdul Ghani said the CITF team had taken all the necessary measures to ensure full compliance of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) set before registering the vaccine recipients.
“Those who came also comprise senior citizens, so we want to ensure all of them, especially those in the high-risk groups comply with the SOPs. At first, I was a bit worried to see the high number of attendees from the sub-district which has 16 villages.
““This shows that their level of awareness (of Covid-19 vaccination) is very high even though they live in rural areas. I’m relieved and happy to see this positive response because the vaccine is very important to protect them,” he told Bernama.
Jumain said following the overwhelming response, his party would try to provide more vaccination slots for residents in the district through the Outreach Programme, adding that he hoped the local leaders could play a role in ensuring that the villagers were vaccinated.
At the programme, which started at 9 am, a total of 300 vaccine doses brought by CITF were administered, while those who were not vaccinated today and have registered as recipients are expected to receive their shot in the coming programme.
Kampung Nukakatan headman Nicholas Kamun, 69, said despite rumours about the side effects of the vaccine, he is confident that the vaccine is safe and would help to protect him and his family from the virus.
He said that the government has been dispensing various types of vaccines to protect the people in the country from diseases that can threaten lives.
Therefore, he said the people should have faith in the government’s move to provide Covid-19 vaccination to the people.
“I also explained the importance of the vaccine to the villagers and advised them not to think too much about the side effects. Not taking the vaccine will also increase the risk of severe Covid-19 infection and spreading it to others,” he said.
John Dunggi Gulut, 90, a retiree, said he was not afraid to get vaccinated as he knows about the importance of the vaccine.
“Although I’m a senior citizen and live in the village, I will not hesitate to take the vaccine...I wonder why some people in the town are afraid to be vaccinated, in fact some of them have been spreading untrue information on the vaccination. We are fine after getting the vaccine,” he said.
Rohani Bukatan, 39, an administrative assistant at a primary school here, admitted that at first she was a little scared and anxious to get the vaccine.
However, she said the feeling disappeared after she was given explanation by the CITF team before getting the vaccine.
“I feel relieved after receiving the vaccine because my work requires me to meet people, especially school children, therefore I decided to take the vaccine to prevent the virus from spreading to others... I don’t a thing, everything is fine after getting the jab,” she said. — Bernama
