KUCHING: Covid-19 vaccination for 16 and 17-year-olds in Sarawak is proceeding smoothly into its third day with students feeling relieved to get their jabs.

       Form Five student Ong Rui Yu said she had waited for a long time to get the vaccine and was happy to be given her first dose on Friday (Sept 10).

       "Now I feel more confident to go back to school on Oct 3.

       "I did not feel anything and it was also not painful.

       "I did not experience any symptoms during the monitoring period either and I'm still feeling well now," she said after getting vaccinated at Dewan Majma Tuanku Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah here.

       Ong also encouraged eligible teenagers to register as quickly as possible for the vaccination.

       "Only with the vaccine can we protect ourselves and others so that we can all be safe and contain the spread of the disease," she said.

       Fellow student Rhyanne Mair Ridu said she was very happy and relieved to get vaccinated.

       "I also feel much more secure and confident to go back to class," she said.

       Her father Johannes Ridu said he was relieved that his daughter had received her first dose.

       "I hope all parents with children aged 12 to 17 years will not hesitate to send them for vaccination to protect their families and the community," he said.

       Ong and Rhyanne were among 785 students who were vaccinated at Dewan Majma on Friday.

       Another 601 students got their shots at SJK Chung Hua Pending, one of the 15 vaccination centres in Kuching.

       Sarawak began inoculating teenagers against Covid-19 on Wednesday (Sept 8), starting with 16 and 17-year-olds and 12 to 15-year-olds with comorbidities.

       Vaccination for those aged 12 to 15 with no health problems was expected to start at the end of the month.

       Public health head Dr Cheong Yaw Liang from the state Local Government and Housing Ministry said the vaccination was being done in designated vaccination centres and schools according to the areas.

       He said several schools were grouped into one centre to make the process more efficient.

       "For example, Dewan Majma can accommodate about 1,000 people, so we gather a few schools there.

       "In Kuching, there are about 40 schools. If they go separately to each school, the process will be slower," he said.