By Shireen Hussain
There are different opinion prevailing regarding Covid19 Vaccination. Even in developed countries, well-educated people are against of covid19 vaccination. People are afraid of side effects and consequences of vaccination including myself. In last century, when polio vaccine was introduced, people were afraid just like today.
Government of different countries is forcing citizens and employers are telling their employees to go for vaccination or else it will cost their jobs.
According to a survey, European people are more afraid of vaccine as compared to the people of the United States. In France, people think vaccine is not safe for them, and the list is following by Bosnia and Herzegovina, where 36% doubt the safety of vaccines. Russia and Mongolia come next, with 28 % and 27 % population respectively. Greece, Japan and the Ukraine all recorded a 25% lack of confidence.
In the United States, 86% People agrees with the vaccination and majority of remaining population is African American. As we all know that there is always a war between Black and White in the US. This becomes the reason that black people are unable to trust the vaccine, rather they consider it a propaganda.
In past, black people always had difficulties in getting their rights in the US, even they did not get opportunities and also faced problem within the health system. They are now refusing the vaccination process.
One Black woman, a mother of two children said, "I do not believed in conspiracy theories but I do not trust the government." On the other hand, white people get vaccinated without any hesitation. In Asian countries people of Bangladesh, Thailand and Indonesia are showing high confidence on vaccines.
According to doctors, side effects of vaccines are quite normal like fever, headache and body pain for a little while. Majority of people think that these are temporary symptoms and after two or more years, it will have critical affect on their health. They have fear of getting vaccinated. Rumors says that people have died of vaccination but there is no proof of it.
Experts suggest that we should not believe on it because if anyone died shortly after vaccination, it may not be linked with vaccine alone.
Let me talk about Polio vaccine in the past, people created many rumors about it. Even they said it would control the population. Today the whole world is polio free except Pakistan and Afghanistan. In Pakistan, after creating many conspiracy theories, now the government, civil society, and religious scholars forcing people to get their children vaccinated. They are dismissing the idea of any propaganda about polio vaccine. So, with time things are changing. Initially, people do not believe the polio vaccine but now they realized it is necessary for a safer future. Now without polio vaccination, we cannot travel around the world. We can compare this situation of fear about vaccines with covid19.
Heidi Larson speaks about rumors of vaccine in her TED talk. She said that it is very difficult to talk about the question of vaccine but now we need conversation. We have to talk about people as these days people are connected on social media, they believe in false news, they believe on what they listen without any research and confirmation and this is alarming. This is obvious, we have to create awareness through conversations to get rid of the rumors.
In my opinion, we should not force people for vaccine as it will just increase their doubts but we must create awareness. One of my friends, who is working with government organization said, “Why they are forcing us for vaccination? Now my belief about side effects is even stronger.”
I would say, give them space, time and the right knowledge so they know the importance of vaccine.