Steps Of Getting the Covid-19 Vaccination from Registration to Reports Of Any Side Effects

The Covid-19 vaccination is voluntary and will be free to all citizens and non-citizens living in Malaysia, as by February 2022, MOH has aim to complete the vaccinations for at least 80% of Malaysia adult population and on 4 March, over 99k of vaccinations has taken place.

Here is what you should understand the vaccination

Phase 1

Phase 1 will take place from February to April 2021, consisting of 500,000 frontliners:

Priority Group 1: Frontliners comprising of public and private healthcare personnel;
Priority Group 2: Frontliners consisting of essential services, defence and security personnel.
These are essential services groups includes healthecare, police, VOlunteers Departments of Malaysia (Rela), The Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia (Bomba) and the Civil defence sector.

Phase 2

Phase 2 will take place from April to August 2021, comprising 9.4 million people in high-risk groups:

Priority group 1: Remainder of the healthcare workers along with those in essential services, defence, and security personnel;
Priority group 2: Senior citizens aged 60 and over, those with chronic diseases, and OKU individuals.

Phase 3

The final phase will occur from May 2021 to February 2022, for the remainder of 13.7 million people and more:

Priority group: Adult population aged 18 years and above (citizens and non-citizens).

What Will The Vaccination Procedure Be Like?

Step 1: Register

Enrolment will be carried out through the MySejathera app, this website, and manually for those who lack access to digital methods. Registration is ongoing on the app, and 1,468,137 people have enrolled since March 1. To register manually, you can call JKKAV’s hotline (TBA) or visit a Klinik Kesihatan. For those in rural and remote areas, there will be an assigned assistance programme to enrol residents.

Step 2: Get Appointment Scheduled

Appointment details like the date and vaccination centre you’re assigned to will be notified through the MySejahtera app, a phone call, or SMS.

Step 3: Show Up At A VAC

Upon receiving your appointment details, you’ll just have to be present at your assigned Vaccination Administration Centre (VAC). 605 VACs have been identified by MOH thus far. Temporary vaccination centres like stadiums, convention centres, community halls, universities, etc. will be set up accordingly.

Step 4: Quick Symptom Assessment

At the hospital, a quick evaluation will take place involving a temperature check and close-contact screening.

Step 5: Identification Confirmation

Then, you will register using the QR code provided for identification purposes.

Step 6: Consultation & Providing Consent

After you’ve registered, you’ll go through a consultation on the benefits and risks of the jab. You’ll then be given authorisation forms to fill up and consent to receive the vaccine.

Step 7: Get Injected

Finally, you’ll receive the first dose of the vaccine!

Step 8: Short Observation Period

Once you’ve been jabbed, you’ll be kept under observation by medical staff for at least 30 minutes. This is to monitor for any immediate adverse reactions.

Step 9: Receive Vaccination Card

Facilitators will provide you with a vaccination card to confirm your inoculation, where you can then go home to rest.

For the CanSinoBio vaccine, which is the single-dose, the process will end here.

Step 10: Observation For Adverse Events

You can return to normal life but be aware of any side effects or Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI). Side effects/AEFI can be reported by either informing the medical facility, through MySejathera, or the NPRA ConSERF site.

Infographic showing the steps of how vaccinations will take place for the public. Out of the 5 vaccines the country is using, those that require second doses are:

Pfizer & Sputnik V vaccines: 21 day-interval;
AstraZeneca vaccine: 28 day-interval; and
Sinovac vaccine: 14 day-interval.

The same procedures apply when getting the second dose. You’ll be reminded of your appointment the same way as the previous. You’ll also receive the COVID-19 Vaccine Immunisation Digital Certificate upon its completion.

Common Side Effects & How To Report Them

Side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine that have been reported are mild and temporary. The most commonly reported ones are:

pain/swelling/redness at the injection site
tiredness
fever
nausea
feeling unwell
headaches
chills
joint pain
swelling of the lymph nodes

For the MOH to monitor side effects and AEFI effectively, citizens will receive a scheduled MySejahtera notification to report them. Health workers via the existing public healthcare system are also allowed to make AEFI reports for citizens.

“Investigations for serious AEFI will be conducted carefully, whereby a special expert committee will be set up to assess these cases and security issues related to the COVID-19 vaccines,” the handbook states. If you’ve got lingering doubts on the potential effects of the COVID-19 vaccine, you could give our article on answering concerns a read here.