Mediacorp Star Elizabeth Lee Has Been Administering COVID-19 Vaccines As A Nurse For The Past 8 Months

Earlier this week, Sora Ma, 38, wrote about her experience getting her booster shot. Nothing out of the ordinary, right?

But there was one thing different. As it turns out, the nurse administering the jab for Sora happened to be Mediacorp actress Elizabeth Lee, 27.

Say whaaat?!

"Thank you so much for being so professional and this is definitely one of the best [vaccination] experience to me (sic). She is not only a best actress but also a professional nurse,” Sora gushed in her caption.

Intrigued, 8days.sg reached out to Elizabeth to find out more.

Turns out Elizabeth, who graduated with an honours degree in nursing from NUS in 2017, has been volunteering as a nurse administering COVID-19 vaccines since June 2020.

As a registered nurse, Elizabeth was one of the many healthcare professionals in Singapore who was contacted by the Ministry of Health to help out due to the manpower crunch.

So she signed up as a volunteer and was posted to a vaccination centre in central Singapore, where she has been administering COVID-19 vaccines for the past eight months.

"Vaccination centres started opening at the start of last year, if I'm not wrong. But at that time, I was filming Live Your Dreams, so I couldn't go down to help at all. After I wrapped [filming], I immediately signed up 'cos I knew that I would have some [free] time,” she said.

Elizabeth played Emma in Live Your Dreams, and fans of KIN will also recognise the actress as Emily Kwan.

She's an actress... and a nurse

Since she's a volunteer, the amount of shifts Elizabeth is rostered for weekly depends on her schedule.

Now that she has wrapped filming for her latest project, the fourth season of healthcare-themed drama, You Can Be An Angel 4, she is planning to help out more.

According to Elizabeth, she does receive a small sum of money in exchange for her time, but declined to share specifics.

Each shift tends to last around 12 to 14 hours, with Elizabeth estimating that her centre once vaccinated “2,500 people” in a day at their peak.

“It can actually get quite tiring, [and] quite crazy 'cos whenever we do it, we vaccinate up to 14 hours a day,” she said.

“I'm thankful to all the other nurses who came in to volunteer. There are a lot of retired nurses who actually came back to help, and that's very heartening to see,” she added.

Sora and Elizabeth's coincidental meeting

8DAYS: How was it like running into Sora Ma at the vaccination centre?

ELIZABETH LEE: Oh, it's quite funny 'cos I was busy at that time since I just finished up with one patient. So I was actually looking at the next patient's details. When [Sora] sat down first, I wasn't looking at her, so I didn't recognise her. So I was just looking at her details, and then she suddenly shouted: 'Elizabeth?!' (laughs)

She was shocked to see me as well and I think ‘cos she was wearing a cap and a mask, I couldn't recognise her.

But after she said [my name], I could recognise her voice, and I was like: 'Sora! OMG!’

And then we started laughing. It's quite funny. She was actually a bit nervous, so I tried to do it as swiftly and painlessly as possible, and I hope it was okay for her. But I guess it was okay, since she posted on IG. (laughs)

Anyone else that you recognised?

There are quite a few, you would be surprised. But I don't know whether [I can share names, since it’s a matter of] privacy for them. But yeah I do see quite a few, and it's quite funny. I actually greeted a few of the seniors and said hi to some people there, which is nice.

I think [Sora] is the first actress that I've vaccinated. The others that I've seen were in other cubicles, but we got to say hi. For some of them, I saw their names beforehand but I didn't get to see them face-to-face as it gets busy.

Do you know her as Elizabeth, Emma, or Emily?

Has anyone recognised you while you were giving them the vaccine?

Yes, they are as surprised as Sora and it has been quite entertaining to see the responses from the public. I have gotten many different kinds of responses. Most of them are shocked, there was one that screamed ‘Emily’ [the name of Elizabeth’s character in Kin] in my face and I was stunned too (laughs).

Some say they are honoured to be vaccinated by me. Some were weirded out and asked me if I am professionally trained as a 'vaccinator'! I’ll explain I’m a nurse too, other than being an actress. A few will ask about what’s going to happen next in KIN and if I was coming back 'cos I disappeared in the story to film Live Your Dreams.

Some would start discussing the storyline and tell me the characters they like or dislike. There was one that refused to leave after getting vaccinated 'cos she really wanted to know the ending of KIN, which is ending in March.

Some are very supportive, and thanked me for my service and wanted to write in to feedback, which I’m very heartened by. There was also one auntie who was shocked to see me on the day of the last episode of Live Your Dreams and said that she was going to rush home to catch the show, and kept complimenting all our performances.

I’m very thankful for all these genuine responses. It’s rare to be able to hear them so honestly from the public face-to-face and I’m grateful for the chance to know how much joy and entertainment it has brought them during this pandemic.

A family of frontliners

You mentioned on your Instagram that your family are all front-liners in the healthcare industry, right?

Yes, yes, all of them are. My older and younger sisters and my brother-in-law are doctors.

Wow! Are your parents working in the healthcare industry as well?

Oh no, no, they're not. A lot of people actually assume that they are, but they're not.

It's really quite coincidental that you and your sisters all ended up in the healthcare industry together.

It's quite interesting, right?

I guess it's 'cos my sisters and I are very close. Since young, we've always shared a common passion for helping people, and we were always very interested in healthcare.

We’ve actually been on mission trips together, the three of us went to Nepal together a few years back and we helped out with healthcare screening, and healthcare education, things like that.

It's also very nice 'cos when you have a shared passion, there are a lot of common things to talk about. We share about the cases and experiences we meet on our jobs and we can understand what it's like being a healthcare worker in this climate.

Elizabeth (far right) and her sisters

Have you thought of becoming a doctor yourself?

Yes I did, but I didn’t get into medical school (laughs). On hindsight, it was really a blessing in disguise 'cos I wouldn’t have been able to act at all 'cos as a doctor you would be bonded to MOH for six years. I really enjoy being in both production and healthcare and hope to do this as long as possible.

At the end of the day, I really hope to encourage everyone out there to get their boosters and protect themselves and their loved ones.

Also remember to be kind to healthcare workers! I understand there are a lot of frustrations and anxiety but let’s try our best to be kind and patient to everyone around us.

I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the frontline workers who have been working tirelessly throughout the past two years, it has definitely not been easy. I sincerely hope that we can move forward together safely as a nation and get comfortable with the new norm as we trudge ahead.

She is also part of the cast for KIN, which you can catch on meWATCH here.

Photos: Elizabeth Lee/Instagram, caretogobeyond/Instagram