Juniper
On the morning of June 20th, I checked my vaccination appointment status on MySejahtera app and it was status quo – no appointment had been scheduled. Ever since I registered for the vaccination in February, I have only been checking sporadically because I didn’t expect it to be my turn until they’d finished with Phase 2. In the evening of the same day, I checked again not expecting any date but to my surprise, there was a date. My first dose appointment was at 7.30 pm on June 22nd @ Mitec. I would have much preferred a nearer location like the medical centre a stone’s throw away from my house but I wasn’t going to risk losing this long awaited appointment so of course I confirmed the appointment.
i admit I was feeling a bit anxious before leaving for Mitec as I am sure few people look forward to having a needle poked into their arm. I arrived at Mitec in less than half an hour, luckily the lockdown meant much less traffic than on a normal workday if there was no lockdown. I arrived at 7pm and the whole process was a breeze and I was surprised there were very few people waiting for their vaccination in the huge hall.
The Rela members and staff there are very helpful, I sat down for a few minutes waiting for my turn to register. I was handed two forms to complete, then waited in the next area for the medical assessment. As expected, the doctor informed me that I would be given Sinovac which was fine with me. I knew I wouldn’t be given Pfizer since I am not a senior citizen.
Then I waited in front of the vaccination booths for about 15 minutes. A fresh batch of vaccines was brought in by one of the nurses. When the vaccine was injected, it wasn’t painful but it did feel sore until more than 24 hours later. Also kind of numb. In the last area, I was given the appointment card for the 2nd dose. I waited in the observation area for 15 minutes before leaving.
Overall, it was a very hassle-free experience as everything was so well organised. I am grateful there were no side effects. Even if it’s true that Sinovac is less effective than the other types of vaccines, some protection is better than none at all. I am also hugely relieved that my appointment is this month as I have friends my age who are still anxiously waiting for their first dose appointment.
