About a week ago, I got my first shot of the Sinovac vaccine. This experience was surprisingly painless, both in terms of the process, and the actual needle in the arm part. Whether or not everything was done properly is another matter, but I attended and had a needle that presumably had some vaccine in it come into contact with my arm, so that is good enough. Plus, MySejahtera (Malaysian national Covid app) now indicates that I have had the first dose, which is more than it shows for my dad (and he has actually had two doses of the Pfizer vaccine).
I registered to get vaccinated sometime in early June (can't remember the exact date). I found out about my vaccination appointment date a few days before it in early July. I hadn't checked for a couple of days, so I may have been given about a week's notice. I was surprised that I got a date so soon, as people had been registering since February and this phase of vaccinations only started in July. I was expecting a big backlog and a FIFO approach (but who knows how they organized it). The vaccine rollout is being done at a different rate according to each state, so I guess I was the beneficiary of Sarawak being on their game and getting people vaccinated quickly.
My time slot was at 8 am on a weekday morning, which is an annoying time as I had to leave early to account for any possible morning traffic (also, I had never been to the health clinic before). I took a Grab around 7 am and since traffic was light, I got there pretty early. There was already a decent-sized queue outside, but it seemed like the folks there were normal patients of the clinic. I saw a dude ask the security guard there about vaccinations and he was told that the vaccination site was at a different place, about 500 metres away. So, I walked to there, and it turned out to be at the site of the building where I did taekwondo as a kid. That old building is gone (it was pretty old and in need of refurbishment even back then) and there are a couple of fairly new and swanky looking buildings in its place. I was a little sad, as the old building was for the Orang Ulu (a group of indigenous people of Sarawak). Google tells me that the new buildings are for the Islamic Affairs department, which is cool and all, but I hope there is a new Orang Ulu building somewhere.
I was greeted at the vaccination location by a fairly substantial queue, which I joined just before 8 am. I estimate that there were about 50-60 people ahead of me (the queue snaked around the building). The mood was pretty chill and it seemed like most people were in good spirits (perhaps happy to be getting vaccinated or just to have a reason to get out of the house). The queue went unexpectedly fast. I wasn't timing or anything, but it probably took about 10-15 minutes to get to the front and into the compound. After scanning in, I got into the first building, where I filled in and signed a paper form. I needed to get help as it was in Malay, but I felt a little less sheepish when I realized I wasn't the only person in that position. After filling in all the paperwork and scanning MySejahtera again, I was given a number and moved on to the second building where the vaccinations were actually taking place.
I walked into a large conference hall/ballroom that had the vaccination booths at one end. I was directed to one of the booths, where there were three nurses (I presume nurses). Unfortunately, none of them spoke very good English. I wasn't too sure what was going on but I managed to figure out where to sit and I just rolled up my sleeve and presented my arm. Now, I am not actually sure what happened next as I wasn't really looking. I felt a tiny amount of pressure, but no actual pain. I think the needle probably broke the skin, but I am not sure. The nurse actually said "whoops", which concerns me slightly. The whole thing was over in a split second and my arm wasn't sore at all, so it left me wondering if the nurse had actually done things properly. I wouldn't put it past someone who is under pressure to vaccinate a whole bunch of people quickly in a short timeframe to not redo things if they fucked up. So I may or may not have been vaccinated properly. In any case, when receiving the next dose, I will watch carefully.
After I was "vaccinated", I walked to the observation area (which was basically the rest of the hall) and sat down. There was a lady sitting beside me who seemed to have a fairly sore arm, which got me even more concerned. The lady in front of me decided to take a photo, which reminded me that this is something that I could do as well. So I did.
I waited out my time and then went to a check out table, where I scanned MySejahtera again. The nice young dude there asked if I was experiencing any negative effects (which I wasn't) and informed me of the date for my second dose. After this, I was all done and free to go.
All up, the whole thing took about an hour (including the observation time). I was impressed by the efficiency of the whole operation, as I didn't have to wait very long at any one step. They were clearly getting through a lot of people very quickly, which is great. Hopefully that wasn't at the expense of doing things properly (certainly in my case), but I guess time will tell. For what it's worth, my arm did feel a little weak for a few days after. Presuming that the feeling was real and not just in my head (psychosomatic?), then I probably did get some vaccine in me. As long as I got some exposure to the virus and my immune system has something to work with, it should be fine.
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