WHEN the time came for my dyspraxic daughter, D. Preeya Nanthini, to be vaccinated, she showed great courage in the face of her fear. I could see it in her eyes; she had been injected only once in her life before this – when stung by jellyfish while on holiday in Port Dickson.
The nurse at the Klang centre where Nanthini received her vaccination was patient, but my fingers were crushed as she held on tightly for an hour prior to the jab.
When I recently read a comment in the media that “persons with disabilities (PWDs) are not afraid to be vaccinated, only their parents”, I knew this was the time to speak out. This is far from the truth as many PWDs have shown fear and trauma before and during their jabs.
Apart from my daughter, who has a fear of needles, other PWDs that I observed also showed fear and trauma while waiting at a vaccination centre (PPV).
Many of them closed their eyes and some refused outright until they were cajoled by their parents and caregivers to be vaccinated.
An autistic child I noticed looked anxious while waiting for his jab and, when it was his turn, he was fighting against being vaccinated.
Some PPVs have set up calm rooms for anxious PWDs that later allowed medical frontliners to administer the jab.
In a WhatsApp group with around 400 parents with PWD children, vaccination is a hot topic. Many are reluctant to send PWDs for vaccination and some have adopted the wait-and-see approach.
According to media reports, only 240,991 PWDs are registered for vaccinations when there are 600,000 PWDs registered with the Social Welfare Department.
Drive-in PPVs for PWDs are a good idea as parents or caregivers can have private moments with their PWDs in their cars and are less inclined to ditch the vaccination appointment.
Frontliners at some PPVs have to work with caregivers to successfully administer the jabs.
Calm rooms for PWDs should be replicated in all dedicated PPVs for PWDs in all states to encourage parents and caregivers to vaccinate their wards.
Also, there should be more media coverage to reassure parents of PWDs that they have nothing to fear.
However, I feel that the government has not done enough to prioritise PWDs. My daughter waited from March to July before she finally got her first dose. She recently completed her second jab and I’m relieved.
However, this is not true for many parents who cannot decide what the right thing to do is; whether or not to vaccinate their PWD children. – The Vibes, September 5, 2021
Dharshini Ganeson is a reporter with The Vibes
