A new future

After a year and a half of tackling the coronavirus pandemic, the country seems to have finally turned a corner, entering what appears to be the final stretch. Recent weeks have seen the positivity ratio for Covid-19 infections falling drastically to low single digits. The number of deaths, caused by the pandemic, has fallen too, as it appears that the worst of the recent variations have blown over. This has seen the government relax Covid-19 restrictions, like reopening of dine-in in restaurants and select cinemas at limited capacities.

One reason for the current situation is the combination of people adopting safety and preventive mechanisms and getting vaccinated against the virus. According to government figures, more than 70 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while over 40 million people have been completely vaccinated. However, this only accounts for a third of the country’s population. This is no time to rest on our laurels because unless everyone is vaccinated against the virus, the danger posed by the pandemic will never truly be mitigated. There are many lessons the government can draw from campaigns for other vaccine-preventable diseases for their Covid-19 campaign.

First of all, the government needs to focus on ensuring that sufficient vaccines, with the proper cold-chains and storage facilities, are available and within the reach of the unvaccinated. Further, the government needs to ensure that people who have taken the first dose of the vaccine return for the second dose as well. There is a need for a nationwide campaign, utilising all available outreach methods, offering both reward and punishment. Mobile vaccination stations, many of which were set up in conjunction with private entities, must be accelerated in remote areas and near concentrations of the unvaccinated. The biggest challenge, however, will remain in whether the government can convince people to accept vaccines, something which has proven to be difficult in the past.

 

 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2021.

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