Written By: Tosin Ajogbeje/Date: 2020/12/29
Reading through blogs and articles makes you question the efficacy of the vaccine. Considerations over “a potentially life-sustaining vaccine” is a thing of concern among people. The causatum and imminent side effect have altered the perception of the COVID-19 antibodies. Health experts are mostly worried about the public mistrust over vaccines, and currently finding ways to convey the importance of the vaccine.
2020 has been quite challenging, and working remotely has been taking a toll on many people. Not everyone enjoys staying isolated at home and focusing on work 24/7. However, a likely “saving grace is here”, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. According to research, the vaccine is for people who are 16 years of age and older. An injection into the muscle of the arm is given to prevent the virus. For the vaccine to work effectively, one needs to get two doses; a single dose and then a second dose 21 days later. So far, studies say that certain participants who took the Pfizer vaccine saw good results after receiving the vaccine beginning 1 week after the second dose. But we can’t ignore the fact that public mistrust about the vaccine is real. Research claims that side effects like body chills, fever or feeling fatigued and pain at the site of injection might occur.
Why are people uncomfortable with using the vaccine? Here are key highlights:
· Some people believe that the vaccine is unnatural and feel that further research should be conducted to confirm the effectiveness of the vaccine.
· Seriously, the arrival of the vaccines is giving people anxiety about the strictness in taking the vaccine. For example, in a CTV news article, questions were raised about employers involvement in making it mandatory for employees to take the vaccine as a condition for employment.”
· With the new variant of the virus (SARS-CoV-2) found to be more transmissible in the United Kingdom, countries like Canada, France, Germany and Italy have imposed travel bans to protect citizens and control the spread of the virus.
· The “key participants” who will get priority to receive the vaccine first has kept people debating about the adequacy of the doses. According to a Washington Post article, in the U.S. thousands of people called out the unfairness in politicians and some health-care workers who don’t directly work with patients receiving shots ahead of people who should. Who are these people? Well, the article mentions that vaccine skeptics are in fact now taking the vaccine, including the fact that some patients have tried to make hefty donations to hospitals to get early doses before anyone. Because of these tensions, further discourse around the inequities around the health-care system has been exposed.
· It is not surprising that people are not willing to take the vaccine because findings say that vaccines typically take 10-15 years to develop. This is a key reason why people want more transparency with the vaccine development process and would prefer to see how it plays out.
· Experts hint at how Black people fear the dangers of the vaccine. For example, research claims hospitalizations from COVID-19 has mostly affected Black communities, including the direct exposure to getting sick as compared to other target groups. Because Black communities are at a greater risk of being exposed to Covid-19 and the mistrust in the health care system, the lack of faith in the vaccine has been queried. Let’s not forget the past or “generations” of experimentation on Black Americans and the “brush-off” at the hands of medical professionals that has left many skeptical about taking a vaccine.
What could this mean for us?
As health officials continue to worry about those who don’t want to be vaccinated, knowing fully well that vaccines are responsible for saving lives, we should determine how this would affect us. The vaccine hesitancy should not be taken for granted because it could stand as a threat to fully stopping the spread of the virus. The benefits and risks of the vaccine should be clearly explained, including remedies to lessen the risks to convince people. Maybe communicating to the public about how the vaccine(s) will affect people with pre-existing health conditions would be a good start.
According to research, there are concerns over falsified medicines leading to poisoning and untreated diseases. I believe extensive scientific research should be carried out to build public trust about the use of the vaccine. The reality is that people from all diverse communities will continue to question the usefulness of the vaccine based on safety measures, and the "short" timeline in producing curable doses. But, the health care industry has the power to gain public confidence through expanded research and consistent testing of the vaccine. The role of governments and health care practitioners in being transparent at acknowledging general concerns about the vaccine could help people understand its overall benefit.
In the meantime, check out my spoken word publication on the world’s leading slam poetry platform, Button Poetry,
Happy Holidays and Reading!
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