Firms Offer To Send Seniors Special Needs People To Their Vaccine Appointments

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Several companies have stepped up to help senior citizens and others with special needs get to their Covid-19 vaccination sites, for free.
Social enterprise Teman Malaysia - which normally offers elderly care services in the Klang Valley for a fee - is offering the services of its caretakers to accompany senior citizens, who could otherwise ill-afford such services, to their vaccine appointments.
“Are you away from home and unable to accompany your grandparents and parents to their vaccination? And your financial's a bit tight? Just tell us the date and time, we will help you out! This free service is for you.
“Or simply, if you know anyone that has trouble going to vaccination or unable to go alone, inform us too. We can help,” Teman Malaysia said in a Facebook posting yesterday.
Interested parties can contact Teman Malaysia via WhatsApp at +601156453964.
However, it warned there are only limited slots available for the free service.
The company normally charges RM70 for the first two hours of the service, plus RM30 for every subsequent hour. The fee excludes transportation fees.

Meanwhile, Kampung Tunku assemblyperson Lim Yi Wei is collaborating with the car-sharing service GoCar to provide residents in the Petaling district with a free shuttle service to get to their vaccine administration centres.

The GoVax initiative is aimed at people above 60 years old and people with disabilities who do not own private transportation. However, people with mobility challenges will still need to be accompanied by a caregiver, such as a friend or a family member.
“A key factor in making sure public health policies succeed is inclusivity. Senior citizens and people with disabilities are high-risk groups in the sense that they are more susceptible to Covid-19 and have a higher mortality rate.
“As such, I am delighted to partner with GoCar in this GoVax initiative to reduce barriers and ensure these high-risk groups are sufficiently vaccinated,” she said.
“However, they might decide to forgo vaccination due to mobility or transportation issues,” Lim said in a joint statement with GoCar yesterday.

Kampung Tunku assemblyperson Lim Yi Wei
Once a vaccination appointment has been confirmed via SMS or MySejahtera, interested parties can contact the GoVax task force via its 24/7 hotline at 1300-30-2633. The service is available until Aug 31.
Arrangements with the task force should be made at least three days before the vaccination appointment, and the limited slots available are provided on a first-come-first-served basis.
The shuttle service will provide transportation to and from vaccine administration centres at Shah Alam Hospital, Rakan Medik Clinic and the Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre. - Mkini

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