Vaccine staff told to get shots after Covid scare

The medical director of a vaccination centre in Jordan says he has ordered staff to get inoculated themselves, after a nurse there was listed as a preliminary positive case on Sunday.

Samuel Kwok, who is in charge of vaccinations at the Kwun Chung Sports Centre, said on Monday that the nurse appeared to have a low viral load, and she had been given an antibody test to determine if she really had come down with the coronavirus.

Kwok said the nurse – who last administered shots at the centre on Saturday – was not among the many staff members there who had already been inoculated, and all those still unvaccinated have been told to get their jabs within a month.

He said operations at the centre had been smooth and there was no need to boost anti-epidemic measures, adding that people were showing up as normal for the Sinovac jabs on offer there.

But some people at the centre told RTHK they would take a Covid test afterwards, just to be safe.

“I’m afraid the antibodies won’t kick in so quickly even though I’ve got the jab, so I’ll get tested to play safe,” said a man surnamed Wong.

He said he didn’t know about the nurse until he was interviewed, and said the staff should inform people about her condition.

A woman surnamed Ho, who received her first dose at the centre, echoed Wong’s views.

“I only found out about the incident when I watched the news this morning. They should let everyone know about this, so people can decide if they want to switch to another vaccination centre,” Ho said.

But she said she was not too worried about catching the virus at the centre as it was clean and well-ventilated, with sufficient space between seats.