Residents in flood-prone Pasir Mas areas happy to be given priority for Covid-19 vaccine

PASIR MAS, June 26 — Residents in flood-prone areas in Pasir Mas can now heave a sigh of relief as they have been given priority for Covid-19 vaccination.

Ahmad Mahmod, 60, from Kampung Banggol Kekabu said he was grateful to have received the first dose of vaccine before the monsoon season and floods that hit his residential area every year.

“Almost every year, I have to move to a temporary evacuation centre (PPS) because my house is in a low-lying area and at risk of flooding. In fact, last year, when I moved to the PPS, I was worried about getting the Covid-19 infection there.

“Alhamdulillah (praise be to Allah), now I have been vaccinated and it reduces the worry if I have to move to a PPS later, at least I am ‘protected’ from this pandemic,” he told reporters after receiving the vaccine shot at the Covid-19 Vaccination Outreach Programme at the Mukim Lubuk Stol Mosque today.

Sharing Ahmad’s sentiment is another vaccine recipient, Nurul Afifah Hasbullah, 23, who said that now she no longer hesitated to evacuate to the PPS, if her house in Kampung Lubuk Stol was hit by floods during the monsoon season.

“Last year, I moved to the PPS for only one day because I was worried about being exposed to Covid-19, even though the centre was operating according to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to curb the outbreak, so I decided to stay at my uncle’s house instead as his house was not flooded.

“After this vaccination, I will not hesitate to evacuate to the PPS as I am at least protected from being infected with this pandemic. Insya-Alllah,” she said.

Meanwhile, Pasir Mas district health officer, Dr Najihah Mahfuzah Zakaria, said that the Pasir Mas district health office had taken the initiative to prioritise the provision of vaccines to the flood-prone population, as the district was often hit by floods.

“Usually, the Pasir Mas district is hit by floods, and sometimes by up to four waves (of floods). In fact, it is also the first district to be hit by floods and the last area to subside from the disaster in the state.

“If there is a flood, we are worried that it will cause crowding at PPS. Hence, with the provision of this vaccine, it is an early preventive measure to create protection for the population from the Covid-19 pandemic, thus preventing the occurrence of clusters in PPS,” she explained.

Dr Najihah Mahfuzah, who is also co-chairman of the Pasir Mas Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF), said that six PPVs under the vaccination outreach programmes have been opened in the district since yesterday, with a target of 1,200 individuals, aged 18 and above to be vaccinated. — Bernama