TUARAN: The Covid-19 Vaccination Outreach Programme in Kampung Tudan, Ulu Mukim Kiulu, about 120 km from Kota Kinabalu has received overwhelming response from the residents.
This is after all 300 vaccine doses brought by a team from the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) of the Tuaran Health Office to Dewan Muhibbah located in the village, were administered within less than five hours.
Tuaran district Health officer Dr Noraziah Bakri said even though the vaccination programme was scheduled to start at 9am, many residents had arrived at the hall as early as 8am.
“Soon after the registration was opened, we received over 100 applications. This is the first Covid-19 Vaccination Outreach Programme implemented by the Tuaran Health Office.
“We also plan to hold the similar programme in other villages around Tuaran in the near future,” she told Bernama.
A Bernama check on the programme found that many villagers were willing to drive through the winding roads in the hilly sub-district early in morning to enable them to get vaccinated.
Teacher Kadie Calvin, 43, from Pekan Kiulu, about 50 km from Kampung Tudan, said he and his wife registered as vaccine recipients in March but they have yet to get their appointment slots.
“I don’t mind to travel early in the morning as what’s important is that my wife and I get vaccinated immediately.
“Organising such a programme will also help ensure that the national immunisation programme can be implemented quickly and comprehensively in Sabah,” he said.
Soilun Balantis, 55, from Kampung Pinahawon which is located about 30 km from Kampung Tudan the programme is indeed highly-anticipated among the residents in the area.
“We hope that more initiatives similar to the outreach programme will be organised around Mukim Kiulu as there are still many residents who could not make it today due to various constraints, including no transportation,” he said.
Student, Rozita Limanis, 22, from Kampung Tudan expressed her gratitude to the Ministry of Health (MOH) for its efforts in ensuring that the vaccination programme reached the rural areas.
“Although I have yet to register for the vaccination via the MySejahtera application, I decided to come to the programme today for not wanting to miss the opportunity to get vaccinated,” she said.
Contractor, Daniel Sibin, 40, said upon receiving information about today’s programme, he took his wife to his hometown in Kampung Tudan, about 58km from his residence in Taman Sri Rugading here, without much further thought.
“I would like to thank the MOH, especially the Tuaran Health Office for organising this programme…my wife and I managed to get our first dose of Covid-19 today,” said Daniel who is scheduled to get the second vaccine shot at the same place on July 7.