SANDAKAN – The public should ensure that they are inoculated with the same brand of vaccine for both doses received.
Sabah DAP acting chairman Datuk Frankie Poon Ming Fung said this can be done by snapping a picture of the Covid-19 vaccine bottle that they are injected with to ensure that the same brand of vaccine is given for their second dose.
He said he was concerned with the vaccine being given to the public after he received a text message from the Health Department saying that he will be given Pfizer for his second dose, when his first dose was Sinovac.
“I was totally shocked and alarmed because I was informed that I was given Sinovac on April 28,” he asked in a statement yesterday.
“I am not a doctor, but I am really concerned with two kinds of vaccines given to me.
“I have raised my concerns with the Sabah Health Department director (Datuk Dr Christina Rundi), and I was assured that I would be given Sinovac for my second dose.
“My concern is what was actually given to me on April 28. I did ask during my first dose, and I was informed that I was to be given Sinovac.
“But now I wonder if I did receive Sinovac for my first dose since I am assigned with Pfizer for the second dose. What happens if two kinds of vaccines are given to a recipient?”
Poon, who is also Tanjong Papat assemblyman, said that although everyone is given a card of their vaccine after their first dose, there was no record of the vaccine’s name.
Meanwhile, Sandakan MP Vivian Wong is asking if the Health Ministry (MoH) is aware of the adequacy in the number of health personnel, and the capacity of a vaccination centre to cater to vaccine recipients.
She said the vaccination process at several districts was not handled smoothly, including in Sandakan.
Wong’s suggestion is that the MoH delegates the handling of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme to health departments at the respective districts instead.
“There has been confusion among the vaccine recipients as to whether to follow the appointment in MySejahtera app or SMS sent to them by Sandakan Health Clinic, as there was a contradiction in the appointments.
“MoH should allow local health departments to coordinate their staff and plan accordingly. This would ensure a smooth vaccination process and avoid confusion,” she said.
Wong reminded the locals to refer to their SMS with the number 089666806 for the time and venue of their vaccination.
She also asked people not to crowd the vaccination centre if they have yet to receive a date and time for vaccination.
Meanwhile, Wong’s DAP Service Centre Team P186 Sandakan has been acting as translators at the Covid-19 Immunisation Centre at the Sandakan Community Hall.
The translators – who are fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin, and Hokkien – are helping Chinese senior citizens to understand instructions better.
“A lot of the Chinese senior citizens are unable to converse in Malay, so we have been helping to explain the vaccination process and answer their questions,” she told The Vibes.
She said she decided to help following the shortage of manpower experienced by the Community Development Leader’s Unit in Sandakan. –The Vibes, May 17, 2021
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