Yesterday, 11 households, comprising 36 people, in Beranang and Semenyih, Selangor, were identified for vaccination.

The van carrying the vaccines and personnel had to travel through narrow roads into areas with dense foliage and patchy internet connection to reach their homes.

Mercy Malaysia health unit head Dr Mohammad Iqbal Omar said his organisation and other NGOs aim to vaccinate some 22,000 individuals in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor listed as bedridden in the government’s database.

“It’s a pilot project for the NGOs. It is very important for us,” he said, adding this is important to maintain vaccine integrity.

If successful, this door-to-door programme will be the blueprint for providing shots to communities that are difficult to reach, such as those in the interior, the Orang Asli and refugees.

He said other NGOs are also involved in this effort, including the Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia’s Response and Relief Team and the National Cancer Society.

“The health ministry and social welfare department (JKM) have provided the names and addresses of those eligible to receive the vaccines,” he said.

Serinang Subi, who can barely walk for the past four years due to rheumatoid arthritis, was happy to hear from the department that she and her family would not need to travel to get their shot.

“JKM said they are coming over, so we need not travel and queue up. This saves us a lot of trouble,” the 69-year-old said.

She said she was at first worried about being vaccinated, but decided to take it since she was at risk of severe illness should someone bring the infection home.

Thirty-three out of 36 people received their first shot of the Cominarty vaccine by Pfizer-BioNTech yesterday.