Blind After Undertaking COVID Vaccination, Residents In Malang Ask For Government Assistance

MALANG - A resident of Malang City, East Java Province named Joko Santoso (38) experienced blindness after undergoing COVID-19 vaccination. Joko hopes for a helping hand from the government.

Titik Andayani (35), Joko's wife, said her husband could not return to work because he was blind after undergoing vaccination in September 2021.

"Currently, the husband cannot work, so what next. We hope for assistance," said Titik in Malang City, Antara, Thursday, December 2.

Titik said, her husband has been blind since early September 2021 and until now he has not been able to return to work because his vision has not fully recovered.

According to her, in the early days her husband was blind, neighbors and relatives often provided assistance. However, later Titik felt bad about getting help from neighbors and relatives.

"What I mean is, how come the government doesn't have any further assistance," said Titik, who lives in Arjowinangun Village, Kedungkandang District, Malang City.

This condition prompted Titik to upload the incident that happened to her husband to a Facebook group called Komunitas Peduli Malang Raya (Original Malang) in the hope of getting the attention of the Malang City Government.

"Initially I intended to be quiet. Indeed, at first I got help, but now there is no help anymore," he said.

Titik has conveyed her hopes to the local sub-district and village heads. She hopes that the government will at least give her husband a suitable job.

"I asked to be given a job that roughly matched my husband's condition. Later, the plan is to provide a cart to sell. That's also okay," he said.

Lurah Arjowinangun Andi Hamzah said that the sub-district government had coordinated with the neighborhood administrators and neighborhood associations to help Joko, including trying to free Joko's medical expenses.

"Then we have also coordinated with the sub-district head and related agencies for further steps," he said.

According to her, the sub-district government together with the Office of Social Affairs, Women's Empowerment, Child Protection, Population Control, and Family Planning have also coordinated to help meet the basic needs of Joko and his family.

"We thought about that too, so that at that time we also distributed basic necessities. Including today," he said.

Joko underwent the first dose of COVID-19 vaccination on September 3, 2021. He received an injection of the vaccine made by AstraZeneca after the results of the examination showed he was healthy and could undergo the COVID-19 vaccination.

After receiving an injection of the COVID-19 vaccine, Joko returned home. When he got home he felt nauseous and then threw up twice.

That night, when he was about to use his cell phone, Joko felt his vision was a bit blurry, but at first he thought it was because he was sleepy so he decided to rest.

But the next day, when he woke up from sleep, Joko could not see at all. Joko's wife then reported the incident to the head of the community unit and Joko was immediately taken to the hospital.