Latipah (left) accompanies her daughter, Nur Masitah to receive her vaccine at Sibu Civic Centre.
SIBU (Sept 26): Students are excited to receive the Covid-19 vaccine as they are keen return for the in-person classes when schools reopen next month.
Nur Masitah Roslan, 13, from SMK Tiong Hin, said she felt more confident to return to school after receiving the vaccine, yesterday.
She said she often heard news from television and social media on the effects of Covid-19 on those infected by the virus.
“After being vaccinated, I feel more confident to attend the in-person classes,” Nur Masitah said.
The Form 1 student is among the first group of adolescents aged between 12 and 15 years to receive the vaccine under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) for adolescents at the civic centre here, starting yesterday.
Nur Masitah said studying at home was not the same as attending lessons in school, as she could not meet up with her friends.
“It has been quite a while since doing the home-based learning and it becomes ‘boring’ over time. Also, I could not go anywhere as there must be proof of vaccination,” she said.
Her schoolmate, Joshua Chew, 13, said he woke up at 9am preparing to head to the vaccination centre with his mother.
“My mother reminded me very early not to be late for the appointment at 11.30am.
“Initially, I felt a bit nervous, but after the vaccination everything is normal,” he said, adding that his second dose would be on Oct 16.
Meanwhile, a parent Latipah Basri, 53, thanked the government for giving the vaccine to adolescents aged 12 years old and above.
She said such initiatives should be supported by all parents to ensure the safety of their children especially when schools reopen later.
“Previously, we were worried about letting our children out of the house as they did not have protection. Now that they have been vaccinated, we feel relieved,” she said.
Sibu Divisional Disaster Management Committee (SDDMC) coordinator, Dr Annuar Rapaee, on Friday said that about 22,000 adolescents aged between 12 and 15 years old in Sibu Division would receive their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) for adolescents, starting yesterday.
He had said four vaccination centres (PPV) would be operational, namely Sibu Civic Centre, Sibu Jaya multi-purpose hall, Kanowit District Council hall and SJK Tong Ah hall in Selangau.
For Sibu District, he said 5,607 students from Form 1 to 3 would receive their first dose of vaccine at Sibu Civic Centre between Sept 25 and 28.