First jab (with Sinovac)

My wife and I have had our anti-coronavirus vaccination on Thursday at the Kepala Batas Hospital. We were in the last of their batch to receive the first dose of the vaccine. After that, the hospital would administer the second dose to those that got the first doses from them. So we shall be in their last batch to get the second dose too. 

By the way, we were given Sinovac. I was surprised because I had thought that we would get the Pfizer. Apparently, not. A doctor there said Pfizer was being phased out already, not only in the hospital but across the nation too. And as an aside, told me quietly that most of the people requested for Sinovac. But in a confident tone, he said their observations showed Sinovac had less side-effects. Those with more chronic diseases would be given Pfizer. I'm not in that category yet, thank goodness. 

So far, so good. This is the third day since the injection. Arm at the area of the jab felt a little sore towards the night of the first day but by yesterday, that feeling had disappeared. It's back to normal although it is still very important to keep our guards up. That means, wearing masks properly, keeping our distance, washing our hands and generally maintaining our hygiene standards.

On the matter of wearing masks, this doctor noted that I was wearing two layers of surgical masks and told me that I shouldn't be wearing them that way. The correct way, he said, was to wear a cloth mask over a piece of surgical mask. That would be sufficient and much better, he said. 

Anyway, the people at the hospital were courteous towards all the people that turned up for their injections. A cross-section of the community. Went from one section to another, having to scan the QR codes in the MySejahtera app when needed. Blood pressure taken before and after the jab, including a measurement of our blood oxygen levels. And finally, a 15-minute wait before we departed. My next appointment will be on the 17th of June. I shall have to cross districts again to go to Kepala Batas but surprisingly, there were no road blocks last Thursday.