PENAMPANG, Aug 2  — Winner of Sabah’s Unduk Ngadau (Harvest Queen) 2021, Maya Hejnowska has urged Sabahans who have yet to register for the COVID-19 vaccine not to delay doing so.

“It is very important that we do so as soon as possible as the vaccine is one of the means for us to safeguard ourselves and the people around us,” she said in a statement here today.

Maya, who was given her first dose of the vaccine at the Kadazandusun Cultural Association (KDCA) today, said vaccination was very important for Sabah to achieve herd immunity soon.

The Unduk Ngadau winner, a beauty pageant held annually during the Kaamatan cultural event in Sabah, also said that she understood that some people were scared of needles and being injected.

“That was also the case with me. But it isn’t really that frightening once you go through with it.  It is true what some people say that the pain is merely like an ant-bite. For me, the process took a second and then it was over and done with,” she added.

Yesterday, Sabah Health director Dr Rose Nani Mudin said almost 40 per cent of Sabah’s residents have received the first dose of vaccine since the state-level National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme began in March, while about 18 to 19 percent have received both doses.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency