A health worker prepares a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. — Bernama photo
MIRI (June 26): Borneo Evangelical Mission (BEM) or Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) supports the vaccination against Covid-19, said its president Reverend Bina Agung in countering the vaccine hesitancy among some Penans.
“Most of us in the headquarters have at least had our first dose as we support the national immunisation programme (NIP),” he said when contacted yesterday on calls to help persuade those concerned to overcome their hesitancy.
There are 63 Penan churches in remote settlements in Sarawak, underlining the influence and reach of the church on this rural community of about 16,000.
Bina pointed out that the church had already issued a circular to encourage the faithful to be responsible members of society by participating voluntarily in the NIP.
He pointed out that BEM upheld the sacredness of life which needs to be protected from any harm at any cost and the church was helping to create awareness in the rural settlements of the vaccines and the importance of being immunised.
These included information that the vaccines had been vetted as safe-for-use and approved by government and it not only protects one-self but their family and community, he said.
“Avoid being influenced by anti-vaccine messages on social media,” he advised.
Bina conceded that there was some feedback from the ground that there were some Penan settlements not ready to be vaccinated but did not pinpoint the cause.
The authorities had blamed misinformation and conspiracy advocates in the social media which led to skepticism although the Covid-19 vaccines have been rolled out throughout the world.
Last Monday, Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau confirmed that a 54-year-old woman who died of Covid-19 in Miri was a Penan woman from a village in his constituency.
Revealing further that there were now Covid-19 infections in his rural settlements, he said the situation was his ‘worst fear’.
This comes after Dennis disclosed at the end of last month that the number of Penans in Telang Usan who had registered for the NIP was very poor.
“So far I’ve only seen one Penan man which is Long Leng’s headman who has been vaccinated. The rest, I was made to understand, have not registered themselves either through their respective headman or MySejahtera,” he had said.
Dennis said despite many efforts since last year to explain to the Penans the importance of receiving the vaccine, the majority of them are still afraid to take the jab.
“Generally, I think they fear the needles most despite the many efforts to inform them on why the need to take the vaccine,” he said.