Sunway Medical Centre welcomes children for COVID-19 vaccination programme
17 February 2022
Sunway Medical Centre (SMC) has recently kicked off its COVID-19 vaccination programme for children, impressing parents in its efforts to make it an enjoyable experience for the children.
“We’re excited to welcome children ages five to 11 today. As a mother myself, I know how nerving it is for children to be vaccinated,” said SMC director of allied health and COVID-19 vaccination programme lead Sherry Woo.
“So, our team decided to dress up the space a bit to make it more children-friendly and less nerve-racking. We are proud of these children for being so brave and look forward to seeing them again at their second dose eight weeks later.”
SMC also prepared a special care kit for the first 400 children comprising children’s masks, a hand sanitiser, a pack of plasters and a little message to encourage them.
SMC’s very own mascot ELFY also made an appearance alongside Bellabot, the delivery bot who works in the children’s ward. Aside from that, they were given specially designed vaccination certificates with ELFY stickers to mark the completion of their first dose.
“Both my husband and I took our COVID-19 vaccinations at SMC and we loved how organised it was. So, when we registered for our two youngest children, we made sure to select SMC for theirs as well,” answered Fauziah Ismail when asked why she picked SMC for her children.
Fauziah’s husband Derek Alphonso went on to share, “With my children vaccinated, it gives me the peace of mind to know that they are now protected. You really never know when and where COVID-19 can be contracted from, so with them being vaccinated, I’m not so worried now.”
On top of that, Ayden (nine) alongside his sister Aleena (11) said that they were excited the night before the jab. The siblings have been very cautious and were not able to go out with their family before this.
Similarly, Tang Chee Chung mentioned that his son Lucas (seven) was so elated that he couldn’t bring himself to sleep the night prior to the vaccination programme. Lucas bravely took the jab and shook his head when asked if it hurt.
SMC medical director cum acting CEO Dr Seow Vei Ken also added that he looked forward to welcoming more parents and their children as there are plans to increase SMC’s women and children services.
“I believe that we have an exciting time ahead as our hospital expands to another three towers, rolling out many more dedicated first-class services in phases. We will be happy to share more later on,” remarked Dr Seow.
SMC is starting with 400 doses weekly for children vaccination on Thursdays and Fridays, and hopes to increase their capacity subsequently. This is by appointment only via MySejahtera.
On top of the COVID-19 vaccination for children, SMC continues to provide adult booster shots and is open for walk-ins on Mondays and Tuesdays only.
In 2021 SMC administered over 350,000 doses to help safeguard the country from COVID-19. They have been active in the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme since Phase 1.
Source: Focus Malaysia
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