Singapore — With his elderly, bedridden mother afraid of the Covid-19 vaccination jab, convincing her to do so was an uphill climb.
Fortunately, after more than a month, Mr Soh Thiam Huat succeeded, and his mum got her first vaccine jab on Aug 16.
Madam Ang Kim Kee had heard of “many reports” of bad side effects from the vaccine, Mr Soh told The Straits Times (ST), which made her not only reluctant but downright fearful.
Moreover, his brothers had also told their 83-year-old mother “other information that was not so positive,” which added to her hesitation in getting the jab.
But Mr Soh, a 55-year-old lecturer, would not give up.
Although Mdm Ang is bedridden and does not leave their home after having fractured a hip bone from falling in 2020, it is still extremely beneficial for her to be vaccinated against Covid-19 as this gives her a strong layer of protection from the infection should anyone in their household happen to fall ill with Covid.
“I looked at it holistically, based on the science and facts. We have car accidents every day. If so, are we not going to take any transportation? So, you have to judge properly,” ST quotes him as saying.
He himself got his vaccine shot first and persuaded his younger brother to do so as well. This would serve as an example to their mother, as well as a reassurance.
The only side effects he experienced were soreness at the injection site on his arm and a small amount of fatigue, both of which ended in one day.
This helped convinced Mdm Ang, who began to accept that the vaccine jabs were all right.
But persuading their mother took a while longer, with the whole process lasting over one month.
“Sometimes, for old folks, the impressions they have are very solid and not easy to change,” he told ST.
After learning in Jul that teams could visit people in their homes to get them vaccinated, he made an appointment for his mum via the hotline number of the Silver Generation Office.
A team from the home care provider visited their home on Aug16 and Mad Ang was able to receive her first jab.
ST adds that while the elderly lady is bedridden, she has not forgotten how to be a gracious host, asking her son and their helper to make sure that the Speedoc team were offered a drink when they came to visit.
According to Ms Nurul Amirah Junaidi, the company’s assistant nurse manager, this is not unusual, and that the team gets offered something to drink in nine out of ten homes that they visit. /TISG
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