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Meet the expat nurse who administered Covid-19 vaccine to Sheikh Mohammed

Abu Dhabi - 'People said they never felt any pain while I gave injections'

Published: Fri 6 Nov 2020, 3:40 PM

Updated: Sat 7 Nov 2020, 12:46 AM

For Sossamma Mathew, a Dubai-based Indian nurse, it was a ‘dream come true’ moment when she finally got a chance to meet His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and administered him a Covid-19 vaccine.

“I always wanted to meet Sheikh Mohammed. And God fulfilled my wish. It was a blessed moment. I can’t express my feelings. I am very lucky,” said a beaming Sossamma, who hails from the south Indian state of Kerala.

Sossamma was part of the four-member medical team, which went to Sheikh Mohammed’s Majlis.

“We visited the place after being tested Covid-19 negative. Sheikh Mohammed asked us about our well-being. He praised the exceptional work done by the frontline health workers.”

Sheikh Mohammed later tweeted a photo in which Sossamma is seen giving him the shot.

Her jabs don't hurt

She was extremely excited to meet Sheikh Mohammed, but not unduly nervous as she has been a seasoned campaigner in administering jabs to distinguished personalities in the UAE.

In September, Sossamma administered the dose of first vaccine to AbdulRahman bin Mohammed Al Owais, minister of Health and Prevention. She gets picked for the job because of a simple reason: the injections she administers never hurt.

“People said they never felt any pain while I gave injections. So, I was always selected to administer flu and vaccine jabs to ministers, heads of federal departments, undersecretaries and VIPs.”

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Sossamma has been in Dubai since 1992. She works as a staff nurse at the preventive medicine department under the Ministry of Health and Prevention.

She has now become sort of a celebrity among her family and friends in the UAE and back in Meenadom village of Kottayam district. Sossamma said her husband Vaidyanparambil Abraham Kuriakose and son Jubin – who work in Dubai – are very proud of her.

“People now know the person behind the mask is me. My family is very happy. I am blessed to get such opportunities. I consider this as a rare honour for an Indian and a Malayali.”

Sossamma is looking forward to administering the second dose to Sheikh Mohammed.

She also wishes to administer a vaccine to Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.

“I hope to give a dose to a VIP at the Burj Khalifa. I have never entered that place,” Sossamma quipped.



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