.jpg "Health personnel board a boat to Pulau Aman with Covid-19 vaccines as part of the south Seberang Perai health district's mobile outreach programme July 8, 2021. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Sayuti Zainudin")
GEORGE TOWN, July 8 — A total 156 residents in Pulau Aman received their Covid-19 vaccines today through a south Seberang Perai (SPS) health district mobile outreach programme.
The remote fisherman’s island, which is only accessible by a 10-minute boat ride, has been a green zone with no Covid-19 cases since 2020 but its residents were still eager to be vaccinated as soon as possible.
One of beneficiary of the outreach programme was Salwah Md Saad, 51, who was bedridden due to a fall injury.
“I am glad that they come to my house to vaccinate me, I can’t walk after my injury in December last year,” she said.
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The mother-of-four fell and fractured her hip and has been unable to walk since.
She said her three adult children were also getting vaccinated under the outreach programme at the community hall on the island.
About 15 health department workers set up a temporary vaccination centre at the community hall on the island today to administer the Covid-19 vaccines to the residents there.
According to another resident, Salihah Itam, 63, it would have taken her a few hours to travel to the Covid-19 vaccination centre in Jawi.
Salihah and her sister, Noriah, 67, were among the 156 to be vaccinated today.
“It is very convenient that they do this here for us so that we don’t have to travel so far to get vaccinated,” she said.
The first person to get vaccinated after the health department personnel set up the centre in Pulau Aman was Ishak Man.
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The 53-year-old security guard was excited to finally get his vaccination today.
“Even though we are a green zone, it is good to get vaccinated to protect us from Covid-19,” he said.
His wife, Sharifah Ishak, and three adult children were also vaccinated today.
He praised the outreach programme effusively as it has saved them the hassle of travelling to Jawi for the vaccination.
“It would have taken us three hours to travel there just to get vaccinated so we are glad that they come here,” he said.
The vaccination for the Pulau Aman residents completed at about 3.30pm.
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The mobile outreach team will return to the island to administer the second dose for the residents on July 29.
According to public health medicine specialist Dr Chow Sze Loon, an officer from the SPS health district office, the mobile outreach Covid-19 immunisation programme have been going to remote areas since June.
He said a total 432 people have been vaccinated through the mobile outreach programme since June.
“We will continue to carry out mobile outreach programmes on a weekly basis to reach out to targeted communities,” he said.
He said they want to especially reach out to those who were bedridden or those in far remote places such as the residents in Pulau Aman.
Pulau Aman has a total population of 235 people and some of the residents, who work in mainland Seberang Perai, have received their vaccination at the SPS PPVs.
