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Malaysia shop sells paper Covid-19 vaccines for Hungry Ghost Festival
- Shop owner Raymond Shieh came up with the idea after reading distressing recollections of those who lost their loved ones before they had a chance to be immunised
- It took him about two days to make a set with a large syringe and vaccine bottles to mimic the real items
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With Covid-19 inoculation on most people’s minds these days, a prayer paraphernalia shop in Malaysia’s Johor state has created handmade paper vaccines so that spirits in the afterlife can be part of the “vaccination” process too.
Shop owner Raymond Shieh said the idea came to him after reading many heart-wrenching recollections of those who lost their loved ones before they had a chance to be inoculated.
He said some of his customers also encouraged him to produce paper vaccines as they wished to give the items as offerings to their deceased loved ones as well as wandering spirits for the month-long Hungry Ghost Festival.
“I felt bad for my customers, who told me that they wanted to fulfil their deceased loved ones’ wishes of getting the Covid-19 vaccine,” he said. “I decided to give it a go since I specialise in handmade prayer paraphernalia.
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“It initially took me about two days to make a set with a large syringe and vaccine bottles to mimic the real items.
“After sharing the finished product on my Facebook page last week, I received a good response and orders for the ‘Hell Covid-19 Vaccine’ from customers in and outside Johor.”
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The 45-year-old added that the set, made from joss paper and other paper materials, would be burnt alongside hell bank notes in hopes that the deceased would receive them in the afterlife.
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