I have been given the Covid-19 vaccine!

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Utusan Borneo journalist records his experience as among the first to be vaccinated in Sarawak

Saibi receiving his first dosage of Covid-19 vaccine.

I woke up early today (Feb 26), around 5am. Today is a historical day for me because I have been chosen to be among the first in Sarawak to receive the Pfizer-Biontech Covid-19 vaccine.

I received a phone call from the Samarahan Division Health Office around 10.30am yesterday (Feb 25), asking me to come to their office if I agreed to be vaccinated on Feb 26 at 10am.

I was surprised and happy to be informed that my name was among the 13 journalists who would be the first to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, along with the frontliners, in the first phase of the state’s vaccination programme kicking off today (Feb 26), as informed by Federation of Sarawak Journalists Association (FSJA) president Jacqueline Atiqah David the day before.

With that, I thank the government for recognising the role of journalists as one of the frontliners in the fight against Covid-19.

After breakfast, I drove to Kota Samarahan around 9am, carpooling with The Star photographer Zulazhar Sebli and two other freelance photographer friends, Herry Naha and Awang Badarudin.

I could not sleep well the night  before, thinking if I had made the right decision in receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.

Not wanting to be bothered further by that, I forced some willpower into myself to march forth into this ‘battle’ with a hope of restoring our lives back to normal and having no more worries about the Covid-19 infection. That’s what everybody wanted – I thought to myself.

From left, Saibi, Kota Samarahan MP Rubiah Wang and Zulazhar showing their Covid-19 vaccination consent forms.

We arrived at Kota Samarahan Health Clinic around 9.30am. Shortly after, a vehicle transporting the vaccines arrived. The vaccine cases were unloaded and brought into the clinic.

Upon entering the clinic, Zulazhar and I were asked to fill in a vaccination consent form each, and to attach our medical history before signing it.

After that, I was asked to register and provide my personal information, at a counter to be keyed into the computer system there. I was also asked to complete the ‘Covid-10 Vaccination’ section in MySejahtera app on my smartphone.

Three rooms were prepared for the vaccination at the health clinic. While waiting, a health officer told us to wait for half an hour after the vaccines were unboxed from their refrigeration case, to let them thaw first.

After that, we were told to wait for our turn. About half an hour later, it was my turn, right after Zulazhar had received his jab.

I went into one of the rooms. Two nurses and an assistant health officer were preparing the syringe. One of the nurses asked me again if I agreed to receive by Covid-19 vaccine, I answered yes.

The injection was given with an orange needle. The process took less than five minutes. Apparently, I was among the first (in Sarawak) to receive the vaccine.

The jab was painless – probably because I was the type who’s not afraid of needles.

Zulazhar said he also did not feel anything when he received the injection. Both of us were jabbed on our left shoulder, because we’re right-handed. For left-handed people, they would be jabbed on their right shoulder.

After that, I was asked to scan a special code via my MySejahtera app for record and proof that I had received my first dose of the vaccine at 10.39am on Feb 26, 2021.

After scanning the code, displayed on my MySejahtera app was information such as the date of my first dosage, the vaccine number and the group number.

Also on the app was a section to report any side effect after receiving the vaccine. There was also an appointment date for my second dose, and a digital certificate for receiving the first dose.

Next I was asked to go to a waiting area together with other vaccine recipients.

I was interviewed and asked if I feel any side effect after the injection.

To me, everything seemed ‘normal’. Other recipients also ‘appeared normal’, including Zulazhar – everyone in the waiting area looked happy.

The healthcare workers in the waiting area were very polite and asked us to wait for another 15 minutes, before another one called me to his desk to ask again if I felt any side effects. I answered everything was normal.

Before leaving, a healthcare worker advised me that should I experience any severe allergic reaction like breathing difficulties, swelling on my face and throat, fast heart rate, rashes all over my body, feeling weak or dizziness, I should come back
to the clinic immediately.

However if the symptoms were mild like slight soreness, red around the injected spot, slight fever, coldness, headache, sore muscles, lethargy or swollen glands, the healthcare worker advised me to take some Paracetamol tablets with a few days of rest, and those side effects should go away.

I was given a Covid-19 Vaccination Card, which I should bring along with me for my second dose, to be administered after 21 days from today (Feb 26).

There should be nothing to worry about with the Covid-19 vaccine. Everything went normal for me and Zulazhar.

Register yourselves to be vaccinated either through MySejahtera or other channels like the district offices or nearby government health clinics.

Pray that after the vaccination programme is completed, our lives would go back to normal – free from fear of Covid-19 infections and free to socialise.