PUTRAJAYA – A total of 60 fully vaccinated cancer patients received the Covid-19 vaccine booster dose at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) here today.
NCI medical deputy director 1 Dr Puteri Norliza Megat Ramli said that they are patients being treated at the institution, and that they were chosen for the booster shot because they have low immunity.
“Administering the third dose will prevent them from being infected with Covid-19 or severe complications if infected. We will identify other cancer patients who will be given the booster shot,” she said after observing the administering of the third dose to the patients.
One of the recipients, 51-year-old Aldrin Henry Serub, said he actually wanted to get a vaccine booster shot as it can help protect him from being infected with Covid-19.
“So, when I received a call from NCI last Wednesday, I immediately confirmed my attendance. As a cancer patient, I have been fully vaccinated, but I need the booster dose for complete protection against Covid-19,” he said.
“There is nothing to be worried about (the third dose) because I am still alive after being fully vaccinated. It is for our own good,” he said, adding that he did not experience any side effects after getting the booster shot.
Norashikin San Abdullah said she too decided to get the booster jab to protect herself against the virus.
“I didn’t experience any side effects either. Everybody must get the booster jab to protect themselves from the virus,” said the 68-year-old.
According to Dr Puteri Norliza, the third or booster dose is specifically for those with low immunity and is given 28 days after they have received their second dose.
Meanwhile, senior citizens and frontliners will have to wait for at least six months after being fully vaccinated to get their booster jab.
So far, she said NCI has only been tasked with administering the booster jab to cancer patients using Pfizer-BioNTech’s Comirnaty vaccine.
Meanwhile, NCI Occupational Safety and Health Unit head Dr Melvyn Chin Yin Chung said the booster jab is voluntary and the recipients must sign a new consent form before they are inoculated.
“The recipients will be given a physical card to confirm that they have been vaccinated,” he said, adding that NCI will monitor the health of patients who received the booster dose.
On Wednesday, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the Health Ministry will start to administer Covid-19 vaccine booster doses to senior citizens aged 60 and above, and frontliners who have completed vaccination at least six months ago.
He also said that the dispensing of an extra dose will be given to individuals who have low immunity (immunocompromised) such as cancer patients, organ recipients and kidney patients undergoing dialysis.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme began on February 24 as a move to control the pandemic. To date, 91.2%, or 21,355,550 of the adult population, has been fully vaccinated. – Bernama, October 15, 2021
