No one is safe until everyone is safe

Every March brings memories of COVID, and remembrance of those sappy view of the concrete jungle without humankind in sight. Four years on, those experience scarred some of us. Who would have thought that since the first three COVID-19 cases were detected in January that eventually Millions in Malaysia would not be spared.?

But it was one of those moment when a lot more people stepped up, from helping our neighbors and random plea for food aid, to eventually volunteering to give support at vaccination centres. Felt just like yesterday when I went to the Ministry to pledge the case for Civil Society Organisation to take part in the vaccination program, as only with whole-of-society approach can we make sure no one is left behind - the bedridden, the vulnerables, and even those undocumented. To rally the public, we developed MyVac system, and more than 300k Malaysian registered and volunteered.?

We documented the whole experience in our Red Gallery Book and had the whole exhibition around this collaboration with over 40 other associations. I didn’t know how I did this and balancing work, but it was the moment when I felt proud to be Malaysian, more than ever.?

Here’s the article I wrote in the book. You can find a copy of this book in the National Library.?

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Providing vaccine equity is real. While vaccine is abundantly available in Malaysia, it is not necessarily accessible. And sometimes accessible, but not necessarily acceptable. Whatever the case, no one should be left behind.

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6-Jun-2021. Day-uno. The historic day when the Red heroes went home-to-home to support Protect Health vision of leaving no one behind, and we were the first Civil Society to lead the vaccination of the underserved.

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Our first vaccination recipient for the day was Mak Cik Yah, a 93 year old women. She looked frail but face beaming with eagerness. Her whole household - children and grandchildren were vaccinated. She was the last one standing, and shielded the very least.

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She reminded me of my late mother, also bedridden. Ma was wheelchair bound for 15 years before spending her last 2 years in this world confined to the bed, fully bedridden and half paralysed. She had a major stroke that her ability to remember her kids, were almost non-existent. Her heavy fragile body makes it hard to bring her outside, without having 3 of my brothers carrying her out. Mobility is a huge privilege.

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But then whether you are at home, or in the hospital, you are exposed. She had sepsis, even when she was barely out. I lost my dad to sepsis. This strong army man who in the end fought and failed against infection in what was supposed to be the most secured place. Being strapped onto the bed, barely moving, does not mean that you are not exposed.

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Before we boldly took the humanitarian call and insisted for MRCS to run vaccination for the bedridden and physically disabled, we had to beat the scepticism that they are not exposed to covid since they are home-bound and don’t go out. But sometimes we forget that everytime the healthy ones come back home, we bring outside influence.?And exposed our loved ones. Vaccine equity must be made for all.

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And this is true even for Uncle H, who had schizophrenia and was locked inside his room so that he does not run out of the house and self hurt. It was for his own safety. I don’t blame them, I have a little sister, dyslexic, and would run amok around the neighborhood at times when she gets into her mood. So I understood, not judging. While Uncle H looks healthy, he was not mentally ready to go and face the crowd and follow the normalcy of the vaccination centres. The family, all fully vaccinated, was truly appreciative. Without the red heroes going to the houses, they would probably still lock him in his room, without vaccine access. It’s the reality. No malice, not ignorance and not because of vaccine hesitancy, just ‘logistics’.

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We spent the next few days climbing up the stairs from one flat to another at times, to more comfortable houses, but we bear no discrimination. Disability does not affect gender or status, and we vaccinate everyone regardless. In states where religious belief was the deterrent, we produced videos from the mufti and community leaders to advocate?for vaccine access, and sometimes we received not so encouraging messages. It has been a challenge preaching the same broken record over and over, but we persevere in the hopes that the benefit will soon prevail.

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We visited Mak Cik Yah for her second dose 3 weeks later, and her face light up when she saw our red vest. Thankful, and grateful. Her lack of mobility was no longer a deterrent for vaccine equity. Cause truly, no one is safe until everyone is safe.

#pandemic #covid #covid19 #vaccination #leavenoonebehind #nooneissafe #humanitarian #redgallery