Senior citizen grateful to have received COVID-19 vaccine

"I was down only with mild symptoms," she said, and after going through the experience, she advised those who have not registered for the vaccination to do so.

She said her condition could have been serious had she not given the vaccination yet.

"It saved me and other family members who tested positive for COVID-19. Our condition was not serious," she told Bernama.

Endot, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Sept 14, said three other members of her family were also found positive with the virus after being close contacts of his grandson who tested positive for COVID-19.

"All of us have completed the vaccination and we only have mild symptoms," she said.

Endot said she could not understand why some people refused to be given the vaccination and hoped her experience would make them to realise that it could save their lives.

"I hope they can learn from what happened to me and my family. If you are afraid of losing your family members, take the vaccine," she said, adding that she received both doses of the vaccine last June.

Sarawak will start giving the COVID-19 vaccine booster dose next month in an effort to further protect the high-risk groups, making it the first state to start the initiative.

The implementation of the booster dose of the vaccine will focus on high-risk groups, for those aged 60 and above, as well as those with serious comorbidities.

Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Prof Dr Asri Said said the booster dose was very important for those aged 60 and above, especially to reduce the number of critical cases.

He said it could be seen from the experience of other countries, where despite having high vaccination rate, there were increase in new cases.

"There is emerging evidence that the waning of immunity from vaccination may be one of the causes of this surge in cases. Israel is one example where the vaccination rate was very high and at one point there were very low COVID-19 cases.

"But for the past few months, cases in Israel have been increasing. Data published recently in the New England Medical Journal also support giving booster vaccinations for those ages 60 and above.

There is a reduction in the rate of confirmed COVID-19 and the rate of severe illness (following the booster shots)," he added.