BATU GAJAH: There was some excitement among students queueing up as early as 8.30am to get their Covid-19 vaccination at the Dewan Bandaran Kinta.

       Bryan Ng Chee, 17, from SMK Tronoh, came dressed in a hanfu, a traditional Chinese outfit.

       “In conjunction with the Mid-Autumn Festival, I bought this new hanfu and coincidentally got to wear it on my vaccination day.

       “I am the last one in my family to get the vaccination, so it is exciting for me,” he said.

       However, Ng admitted he felt a bit nervous.

       “I am worried about the pain. Hopefully it won’t be painful,” he said.

       S. Janani, 18, said getting vaccinated means being able to attend school as usual.

       “I don’t prefer online learning as it is hard for students to ask questions of the teachers. I know that getting vaccinated will allow me to go to classes.

       “In my house, only my mother has completed her vaccination and we have a two-month-old baby, so I do feel safer now that I am getting vaccinated,” she added.

       Janani said she and her classmates were informed they were going to get vaccinated by their teacher.

       “We have a group chat and my class teacher updated us about our vaccination a few days ago.

       “We got the notification via MySejahtera the day before our vaccination,” she added.

       Mohd Rasul Kamsani, 16, from SMK Sultan Yussuf, said getting vaccinated would make him feel safer.

       “Although there have been Covid-19 cases reported of those who are vaccinated, the percentage is low and they seem to recover much more quickly.

       “So, I do feel safer getting it, especially if it will allow me to go back to school,” he added.

       Mohd Rasul said almost all of his family members have been vaccinated.

       “My parents and my two older siblings are vaccinated. I have two younger siblings who are in primary school.

       “With more people getting vaccinated, I believe it will create a safer environment,” he added.

       As caretakers aren’t allowed into the vaccination centre, parents were seen waiting for their children on the roadside.

       Syed Nor Hisham Syed Abdul Rahman, 49, was at the vaccination centre with his son, Syed Muhammad Amir, 17, at 8am.

       “These days, everyone needs to get vaccinated to go anywhere. Now that he is vaccinated, I do feel it is safer for him to go back to school,” he said.

       Kam, a housewife, said she was initially hesitant about getting her daughter vaccinated.

       “It took me some time to let her get the vaccination. I saw some Facebook posts claiming that the vaccination is not safe for younger children.

       “However, with the new Delta variant, I feel that my daughter is protected with the vaccine and I wouldn’t want to jeopardise her health based on just (social media posts).

       “She is also excited to get vaccinated and even prepared her outfit a day before, including wearing a face mask that matches her shoes,” she added.