GEORGE TOWN, June 7 — The first day of AstraZeneca vaccinations at the Spice Arena here went smoothly and without hitches as registered individuals were quickly ushered in through several counters before they were given the vaccines and finally ushered to the waiting area.

The whole process took around 30 minutes and one of the recipients, Teoh Hooi Kheng, 72, was all praise for the efficiency of the volunteers and medical staff throughout.

The shop owner and her husband, Tan Seow Kee, 78, registered for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme through their MySejahtera in February.

Tan received his appointment and had already received both his Pfizer-BionTech doses in April and May, respectively, but Teoh had yet to get her appointment prior to registering for the AstraZeneca opt-in scheme.

"When they opened up AstraZeneca for registration, my son registered for me, he said it’s best not to wait anymore,” Teoh said.

Her appointment was supposed to be 4.30pm today but she had called and requested to come earlier so Tan drove her to Spice Arena at 11.30am.

"Everything went smoothly, I am glad my son registered for me, it gives me some peace of mind as I want to be vaccinated as soon as possible,” she said.

Teoh, who has high blood pressure, said she owns and manages a souvenir shop in Penang Road and has to deal with customers daily so it is important that she gets vaccinated.

She said now is a good time to go for vaccination as her shop is closed during the total lockdown.

Both Tan and Teoh are full of praise for the whole process and the efficiency of the medical staff and volunteers at Spice Arena.

"The service is excellent and it was all done properly,” they said.

Teoh said there was hardly any pain when she was given the vaccine and she did not feel any immediate side effects.

Today is the first day that the AstraZeneca vaccine is being dispensed at the Covid-19 vaccination centre (PPV) at Spice Arena here.

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow during a visit to the Covid-19 vaccination centre at the Spice Arena, Bayan Baru June 6, 2021. —Picture by Sayuti Zainudin

A total 112,350 people have registered for the previously opt-in scheme, out of which 31,928 are above 60 years old and 80,422 are between 18 and 59 years old.

Another vaccine recipient present at Spice Arena this morning is taxi driver Samsuddin Saat, 61.

He had asked his children to register for the AstraZeneca vaccination for him the moment it was open for registration because he does not want to wait any longer.

"I take customers in my taxi every day and I was praying every day hoping that I don’t end up taking a Covid-19 positive customer in my taxi,” he said.

He said he will feel more protected after taking the full two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

"After this first dose, I feel that I am somewhat protected but I will be more confident of my safety and protection after my second dose which is on August 31,” he said.

Earlier, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, who visited the Spice Arena, said the PPV at Spice Arena was to dispense the AstraZeneca vaccine to those who had opted for it between today and July 27.

He said the first three days will handle about 1,000 doses per day to ensure the procedure runs smoothly before the number of doses are increased to 3,000 per day from Thursday onwards.

The operation hours for the PPV at Spice Arena is from 8am to 9pm on weekdays and from 8am to 5pm on weekends.

The target is to dispense 3,000 doses per day on weekdays and 2,000 doses per day on weekends, Chow said.