Trusting science

The road towards achieving immunity is not going to be smooth, at least for Pakistan.

I realised how weak a Covid-19 vaccine would be for us at a barber shop. On December 9, the same day England became the first country to inject its people with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, I entered the shop where a corona conversation was in full swing. The talk took an unexpected turn when one person said, “The vaccine has a chip in it through which they will track and control us.”

Growing up, we were made to believe that our existence as Pakistanis is under some kind of foreign threat. We have been fed this delusion of persecution and that the whole world is against us. Our belief system has grandiosity written all over it. We believe we have exaggerated abilities and powers the outside world is intimidated by and wants to implant an all-controlling chip, under the guise of a vaccine, into us.

With nothing to support, these false beliefs are the reason why we are one of the two countries in the world where polio is still prevalent.

The first Covid-19 case in Pakistan was reported in February 2020. Since then how have we contributed towards the pandemic, global health and biotechnology? We stood in front of our TV sets and pointed fingers, raised eyebrows and doubted those busy making history in the field of science and technology. We questioned those who developed vaccines the very year a deadly pandemic rocked our core. Our only contribution has been keeping the flame of conspiracy alive.

Biotechnological advances of the outside world are seemingly dragging us deeper into the cave. Fear looms that we might bid modern science farewell and resort to rubbing sticks and stones.

Multiple vaccines have come forward as a rare window of hope during these dark times such as Russia’s Sputnik V, China’s CoronaVac, US’ Moderna and Pfizer vaccines (in collaboration with Germany’s BioNTech company) and Britain’s Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. These golden bullets may not be able to change the course of our country as many are dreading this ‘tool’ and calling it an attempt by our enemies to weaken our bodies. IPSOS’ December national survey concluded that 40% of Pakistanis are reluctant to get the vaccine while the percentage willing to get vaccinated has dropped from 62% in November to 60% in December. Our people fear that Third World countries like ours will be used as a testing ground for these vaccines. Same is the case with polio vaccination campaigns in Pakistan and Afghanistan where vaccinators are killed on the pretext that the campaigns are a facade for intelligence gathering by outside elements.

Pakistan is aiming to secure the under-trial vaccine made by China, a close confidante, and expects to start immunising its people from April 2020. Amid the rising tide of fear and skepticism, it is a wise decision to put our trust in China who has played the role of a big brother in difficult times and is better versed with the virus and its dynamics. The downside of this is the cost; a single dose is around Rs5,000. This will be another roadblock in our vaccination drive.

This uneasiness is also shared by the outside world. The Canadian government is keeping the conspiracy burner boiling by offering those reluctant money in exchange for vaccine shots. Questions such as, “Is it going to make me infertile? Does it contain a 5G chip? Is it going to kill me?” are also being asked in the US and other developed countries.

The vaccine is floating in a sea of fears and myths. The fascination with conspiracies and anti-vaccination sentiment run high in our country and need to be controlled as swiftly as possible or else we would see a new addition to the dusty polio vaccine cabinet.