Almost two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the general population are showing their eagerness to get vaccinated as soon as possible, allowing them to carry on with their lives pre-pandemic.

Taxi driver Samsuddin Saat, 61, who got his first dose of the Astrazeneca vaccine at the PPV Spice Arena today, said his daughter helped him and his wife register for the vaccine as soon as slots were opened up to the people in Penang and he was relieved upon getting the vaccination appointment confirmation.

"I am eager to get vaccinated to protect myself because I drive a taxi for a living, which means I come in close contact with people all the time. This will give me a peace of mind when I come home.

"Before leaving my house to go to work, I always pray that I will not be infected with COVID-19. I will feel more confident after my second dose on Aug 31," he told reporters today.

Samsuddin, who is from Sungai Nibong, hoped that more people would register for the vaccination to help save the country's healthcare system.

"My daughter is a nurse in Johor Baharu and she always tells us how hard the medical frontliners are working to handle COVID-19 cases, on top of wearing the multiple layers of personal protective equipment.

"It is disappointing to see that there are still those who believe that COVID-19 is a propaganda. It is sad to see piling death cases every day," he added.

Meanwhile, for retired teacher Nazariah Nordin, 54, the high daily new cases and creeping number of asymptomatic COVID-19 cases were her utmost worry, especially with most economic sectors still operating.

"My husband and I both registered for the voluntary AstraZeneca vaccine and we got appointment slots in Kuala Lumpur. We feel so relieved after receiving our jabs on June 1 recently," she said.

She said they were both willing to drive all the way from Penang to Kuala Lumpur just to get themselves vaccinated.

Nazariah said that the sentiment is shared by several others as people are keen on getting protected against COVID-19, as proven by the fast take up of the AstraZeneca vaccine, that was once clouded by controversies due to its possible side effects.

"I do not mind getting which ever vaccine as long as it is approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA). I only experienced slight fever and sore arm after 24 hours of taking the vaccine, which subsided after I took panadol every six hours," said the mother of two.

-- BERNAMA