ISLAMABAD:
The genesis of Covid-19 has set forth some unprecedented challenges for the entire human race. In Pakistan, the conditions are becoming increasingly deplorable with the introduction of the Delta variant and the Epsilon strains. Despite the ever-increasing death toll, it is mindboggling that many citizens are still skeptical of getting vaccinated and consider it as a “personal choice” rather than a social responsibility.
A recent study conducted by Karachi University’s National Institute of Virology claims that all positive cases being newly reported are of the Delta strain. According to WHO, the Delta variant has been flagged as the most contagious and most dangerous of all the variants. However, the onset of California’s Epsilon strain in Lahore has set off alarm bells yet again as it is allegedly equally resistant to vaccines and also rapidly transmittable. People must realise that the continuous arrival of new variants obliges them to get vaccinated and help minimise the spread of the contagion. The aim of the government should be to promote speedy and equitable access of vaccines. However, the dilemma is that hardly 5.5% of population have received both doses. This raises the question: how can the government “convince” the remaining citizens to get vaccinated?
Published in The Express Tribune, August 23rd, 2021.
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