“Nothing in life is to be feared. Life is only to be understood, and now is the time to understand more so that we may be fearless.”
When the news of all adults beings eligible for Covid vaccination finally came, it triggered a range of emotions. When talking about when and where they would be receiving their first shot of Covid vaccine, they also spoke of their relief, delight and even their elation. One person danced around the room, another “screamed a bit”, yet another felt giddy. “It feels,” said one, “like my life’s about to begin.”
But for some, there are other emotions in play as well: concern, fear and even anger. Mandatory vaccination, including one for Covid-19, can be ethically justified if the threat to public health is grave, the confidence in safety and effectiveness is high, the expected utility of mandatory vaccination is greater than all other alternatives, and the penalty or cost for non-compliance is proportionate.
India began the “world’s largest vaccination programme” on January 16, 2021. In my opinion, Covid-19 vaccination should be made mandatory for certain groups at least. This means there should be penalty, fine or limitation on your freedom of movement if you fail to get a vaccinate shot.
The less burdening it is for an individual to do something that prevents harm to others, and the greater the harm that gets prevented, the stronger the ethical reason for mandating it. Being vaccinated dramatically reduces the risk of seriously harming or killing others.
A lockdown is mandatory, just like vaccination is. A lockdown protects vulnerable people from Covid-19. The latter can achieve a much greater good at a much smaller cost. Moreover, mandatory vaccination will ensure that the risk and burden of achieving herd immunity is distributed evenly across the population. Because herd immunity benefits a society collectively, it’s only fair that the responsibility of reaching it is shared evenly among all individual members.
Vaccines approved by competent national regulatory authorities are quite safe. As with medicines, one can experience side-effects after getting their vaccine shot. However, these are usually minor and of short duration such as redness, sore arm, chills or mild fever. More serious side effects are possible, but only in rare cases. A person is far more likely to be seriously harmed by the virus than by the vaccine.
Now, coming to vaccine hesitancy, the WHO defines vaccine hesitancy as the delay in accepting or refusing a vaccine despite its availability at vaccination services.
The main reason for vaccine hesitancy is misinformation. A few ways in which it gets manifested are:
- Religious propaganda: Many religious communities are spreading misinformation that the vaccine contains microbes, chemicals and animal-derived products that are forbidden by their religious laws.
- Fear of vaccine: Many fear that the vaccine may kill or harm us. So, they decide to wait for others to get it before they feel assured and take the vaccine themselves. Some even tend to talk about the vaccine negatively without even trying it.
- Social media: The medium of social media is often used to stir fear among people by falsely blaming vaccines for unrelated diseases. This has been the bedrock of vaccine hesitancy across the globe.
Conclusion
- Building trust: Vaccine manufacturers can provide honest information about the side-effects of the vaccine and reassure citizens regarding the robust vaccine safety system.
- Digital algorithms: Google, Facebook and other such platform should be asked to make sure that only credible, scientifically based information on the vaccine gets circulated among users.
- Influential people or celebrities should come forward to dispel myths regarding the vaccine to put an end to vaccine hesitancy.