Excerpted from Berita Harian

More than 80 percent of madrasah students who will graduate from school and have been invited to take the vaccine, have already booked vaccination slots

Muhammad Faeiz Mohd Adzlan, 17, a student of Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah expressed his happiness upon receiving the SMS to book a vaccination appointment on June 1. He was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

With the increasing cases of Covid-19 infections here, he admitted to often feeling restless when in public.

Muhammad Faeiz said he now feels calmer in preparing for the major religious examination later in the year, ever since the vaccination program was launched for students.

Commenting on his vaccination process, he said that it went smoothly.

“I was actually scared of getting injections but managed to calm myself down.

“After receiving the Pfzier-BioNtech vaccine injection, I was told to sit and rest for 30 minutes before returning home,” said the Pre-University 2 student.

Sharing the same experience, Ubaidillah Al-Hamdan Fahmi, 17, also expressed gratitude to the government for starting to offer vaccines to students.

With news of students being infected with Covid-19 recently, the Pre-University 2 student at Madrasah Aljunied Al-islamiah said it was important for him to get vaccinated and protect himself.

“I am very concerned about the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic which has affected the whole world – even more so when no vaccine was initially offered yet. I was also a bit fearful after reading the news on the side effects of the vaccine.

“However, after receiving information about the vaccine and also testimonials from both my parents who have been vaccinated, I felt it necessary to get for myself too,” Ubaidillah added. He will receive his second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on July 22.

Madrasah Al-Ma’arif Al-Islamiah student, Wafiqah Abdul Wahab, 16, said she was not afraid to take the vaccine because she understood that it was for the betterment of herself, her schoolmates and the community.

As she prepares for the GCE O Levels examination, Wafiqah hopes to return to school after the school holidays.

“By taking the vaccine, I hope to be able to attend additional physical classes in school this June.

“Attending classes physically is more effective than online for me as I’m more focused in class,” she said.

More than 80 percent of graduating madrasah students have been invited to take the vaccine and booked vaccination slots, said the Second Minister (Education and Foreign Affairs). Dr. Mohamad Maliki Osman.

After witnessing the vaccination process at Our Tampines Hub yesterday morning, he mentioned in a Facebook post that it was very encouraging to see the country’s efforts to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“This is encouraging because it shows that students and their parents appreciate and understand the importance of vaccines in our fight against Covid-19,” said Dr Maliki.

More than 1,500 madrasah students aged 12 and above are expected to have been invited for vaccination, he added.

During his visit, Dr Maliki met with several students including two students from Madrasah Aljunied who have taken their first dose of the vaccine and expressed happiness by the madrasah students’ positive responses.

“I want to encourage every eligible student to get the vaccine when it’s offered to them.

“This is our way of protecting not only students and educational institutions, but also our families and the wider community,” he added.

Excerpted from Berita Harian, on 7 June 2021. Read the original article here: https://www.beritaharian.sg/setempat/pelajar-madrasah-lega-sambut-baik-peluang-dapat-vaksinasi 

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