Baru Bian
KUCHING (June 21): Ba Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian has requested all village chiefs in his constituency to encourage their people to turn up for the Covid-19 vaccination.
The Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) lawmaker made such request in light of a medical team having flown to Ba Kelalan today to vaccinate the villagers there.
“I would also like to request the medical team to vaccinate every person who attends at the vaccination centre whether they possess MyKad or not, so that every person’s life will be protected,” he said in a statement.
Baru said it is encouraging to see that over 400 people in Ba Kelalan have already registered themselves for vaccination.
He appealed to everyone in his constituency and other rural areas in Sarawak to go for the vaccination.
“It is important that every single person be given this protection against the Covid-19 virus so that all the kampungs (villages) will be safe zones.”
While he is aware that some people may be worried about possible reactions after receiving the vaccine, he said the reactions are normal.
“Those reactions are normal because your body is building up your protection against the virus, and these side effects will not last long,” he explained.
He quoted the World Health Organisation to reassure that serious side effects were extremely rare and most reactions were mild to moderate in nature and did not last more than a few days.
“The common reaction is some soreness in the arm at the injection site and possibly some swelling. For relief, you can apply a clean and cool cloth or compress on the arm and also to exercise the arm or move it as much as possible.
“Other reactions may include tiredness, headache, fever, muscle pain, chills, nausea and diarrhoea. For fever and pain, Panadol may help. Also make sure to drink plenty of water to keep hydrated,” he said.
Baru pointed out that side effects are a sign that the vaccine is working in human bodies.
He said some people may not experience any side effects but that does not mean the vaccine is not working.
“Our bodies react to vaccines in different ways, and we should not think that the vaccine is not effective if we have no reaction,” he said, stressing that the vaccine offers protection to all who have received it.
He said there were cases of people developing Covid-19 even after receiving the vaccine, but this was not caused by the vaccination.
He added that these people were likely exposed to the virus before receiving the vaccine.
“If every community is protected in this way, we will be able to reach herd immunity sooner. Let us all play our part in getting this pandemic under control so that our economy and our borders can open up again, and our country can begin to recover and rebuild,” said Baru.