KARACHI:
One gets disappointment to know about the low vaccination rate in Pakistan. Only 5 per cent of the 220 million population has been vaccinated so far. In comparison, the vaccination numbers are much higher in other countries of the region. The situation becomes all the more threatening in view of the fact that we, in general, are not too careful about adopting measures to keep the virus at bay. For most of us, life is going as usual – no face mask, no social distancing, and no regular hand-washing. There is a dire need to tell our people that we cannot afford to take the coronavirus lightly, especially when the vaccination rate in our country is pretty slow and when the Delta variant of the virus is wreaking havoc in many parts of the world, and may cross into our borders, God forbid! We have seen just our next door how lethal this variant could be. Yet the local authorities seem oblivious of this variant.
Moreover, conspiracy theories – that the vaccination is a means of inserting some chip inside the bodies to skim personal data and track movements or it is a kind of slow poison that would lead to death within two years – are also gaining traction among a population with a low level of literacy and awareness. Thus a kind of fear regarding the vaccination is being spread among the people through social media platforms. This is causing a growth in the number of anti-vaxxers. The government must, therefore, understand how real and widespread the issue of vaccine scepticism is, and that it needs to address this hesitancy and ramp up efforts to persuade people to get themselves vaccinated.
Sameer DM
Kech, Balochistan
Published in The Express Tribune, July 10th, 2021.
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