KANGAR, June 27 — A total of 224 expectant mothers out of almost 10,000 in Perlis who have registered through the MySejahtera application began receiving their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine jab at the Dewan 2020 vaccination centre here today.
Perlis State Secretary Azman Mohd Yusof said that unlike other vaccine recipients, a special room was provided for the expectant mothers to be vaccinated.
“For the first phase in Perlis, a total of 10,000 expectant mothers will receive the first dose of the vaccine and I understand that 106,000 pregnant mothers nationwide have registered via MySejahtera,” he told reporters during a visit to the vaccination centre today.
Meanwhile, Perlis Health Department’s Family Health senior principal assistant director Dr Izwana Hamzah said that only women who are between 13 and 33 weeks into their pregnancy would be allowed to be vaccinated, while those who are over 33 weeks into their pregnancy had been advised to get vaccinated after giving birth.
“For those who have received their first dose of the vaccine, the second dose will be administered either before or after delivery,” she said.
Thirty-three-year-old Norazeyan Abu Hassan, who is one of the expectant mothers to receive her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine jab today, said she decided to get vaccinated for the safety of her unborn child and herself.
“I immediately registered for vaccination when I found out about the benefits of being vaccinated before giving birth,” said the Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) employee, adding that her husband supported her decision.
Loo Huey Sze, 33, concurred, saying she was willing to travel interstate from Sungai Petani, Kedah as she wanted to be vaccinated earlier.
“I want to be vaccinated earlier because I’m worried my baby might risk being infected with COVID-19. If I take the vaccine now, the risk is lower,” said Huey Sze, who is expecting her first child.
