Association starts Covid-19 vaccine drive for blind, caregivers
From as early as 9am, a small orderly crowd comprising mostly of the blind and their caregivers started gathering at the Malaysian Association for the Blind (MAB) headquarters in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, to receive their first Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine dose.
A team of People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela), Civil Defence Force and Health Ministry personnel were present to facilitate the process at a daily capacity of 200 recipients.
The MAB building will serve as the...
From as early as 9am, a small orderly crowd comprising mostly of the blind and their caregivers started gathering at the Malaysian Association for the Blind (MAB) headquarters in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, to receive their first Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine dose.
A team of People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela), Civil Defence Force and Health Ministry personnel were present to facilitate the process at a daily capacity of 200 recipients.
The MAB building will serve as the first dedicated vaccination centre for persons with disabilities (OKU), as part of the government’s drive to expedite the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NIP).
MAB chief executive officer George Thomas said the initial registration recorded 1,100 blind individuals and 700 caregivers, with more expected under the second ongoing registration exercise.
“We are expecting to run until completion of the second dose.
“We are operating from 9am to 5pm from Monday to Friday, and some of the days we will directly go to care homes and administer vaccines,” said George, adding that all personnel on duty will also be vaccinated.
The vaccine recipients today mostly came from all over the Klang Valley, either accompanied by a caregiver or by themselves via public transportation.
George said the process from registration, health briefing, vaccination and waiting period would take, on average, an hour for each recipient.
Following the success of its pilot project, George said MAB will hold further discussions with the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, as well as the Health Ministry, to discuss setting up more vaccination centres for OKUs in other states.
Vaccine recipients who were met after receiving their first shot expressed relief and gratefulness for the opportunity to protect themselves and contribute towards the goal of achieving herd immunity.
Mohd Redzuan, 51, who was accompanied by his wife, Halawani Omar, 48, expressed hope they can soon resume their home-based food business.
Meanwhile, Vincent Ng, 25, said he was initially worried about being late as his father’s car had stalled along the Federal Highway while on their way from Klang this morning.
“We just ‘flew’ here after that. My father drove us and now I’m happy I received my vaccine.
“I didn’t try to register for other vaccines because I think this would be the fastest one to get,” said Ng.
Vaccines to assist the blind
The area surrounding the MAB headquarters is well known for a large number of blind masseurs and George said a major goal was to assist them in resuming operations affected by Covid-19.
“We want them to be able to say they are vaccinated, so they can eventually resume business.
“That will give confidence to patrons to come back,” he said.
He said that the impact of Covid-19 on the blind is devastating because many are daily wage earners, buskers, masseurs, and some petty traders.
“If they can’t move, they will definitely get no income,” he said.
Earlier, George was present on the first day of MAB's vaccination drive at the association's headquarters together with Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rina Harun, as well as Senator Ras Adiba Radzi.
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