Vaccine Debate: The Innocent, the Gullible, and the Horrible

Tanzania has officially kickstarted its COVID vaccination program and many are responding to the campaign. However, there are those who still choose not to be vaccinated. They can generally be placed in three categories: the innocent, the gullible, and the horrible.

The Horribles

The horrible ones are usually the up-to-no-good chaps who may even know that things won’t end up well with them but are hell bent on taking as many people down with them as possible. They don’t care for one side of the argument or the other as long as they get their day in the sun. These include those who speak quite authoritatively against COVID vaccines while they have absolutely no idea what they are talking about.

We have had our good share of such people. They have endangered many lives just to protect their fragile egos. Imagine forcing others to take off their masks just because they don’t subscribe to one’s irrational version of reality? How do you respond to such people? I guess – one of the ways is to simply say ‘R.I.P’ when they say they won’t get vaccinated. The world will become a slightly better place without them.

The Gullibles

Then there are the gullible ones. Think of all the antivax conspiracy theories – you will find those who subscribe to them in this category. They can cite a myriad of sources with questionable authority to justify their convoluted ideas. Some even believe that they are doing something noble by rejecting the vaccine – like resisting imperialism or standing up for their faith!

A couple of weeks ago, I received a call from a friend up north. He told me of his ordeal with COVID which had left him hospitalised for two weeks. He was still in hospital then – thankfully he later recovered. Since he was a community leader, I assumed that his experience would make him a valiant soldier against COVID after recovery. Alas, the moment he was strong enough to type, he continued to support antivax rhetoric!

They come in all sorts. Not all of them are malicious. But, in my opinion, many in this group appear to be victims of a bad educational system. You listen to their ideas and you can easily see that they are poorly digested. Winning them over isn’t easy – because it implies a painful process of unlearning and relearning on their part. But these are our family, friends, and countrymen – we owe it to them to keep explaining.

The Innocents

Finally, we have the innocent ones. Unlike the gullible ones, these include those who are genuinely perplexed by the situation. They have seen government officials and medical practitioners flipflop on the issue and they ask: how can both positions be right? They have heard of all the deaths due to COVID vaccines and are frankly afraid. One highly balanced man keeps saying that he is ’50-50’. I know that he is very sincere.

Unfortunately, regardless of how sincere someone may be, the potential results of being unvaccinated are the same: deadly. In July, the US’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 99% of all who died of coronavirus in the previous six months in the US had not been vaccinated. This led to the US government calling the phenomenon ‘the pandemic of the unvaccinated’. Therefore, we should not allow sincerity to replace truth.

A doctor in Birmingham, Alabama, revealed that one of the last things the unvaccinated who become critically ill ask for is to be vaccinated. This is quite unfortunate because they somehow get that clarity of choice when they are approaching the point of no return. That’s why the most important question that people are confronted with today is – why aren’t you taking the vaccine?

Why Aren't You Taking the Vaccine?

For many in the developing world, the answer is – they don’t have access to vaccines. But there are many who are still playing Russian roulette with their lives. While it is appointed for all those who live to die, it is always unfortunate when life is ended through recklessness. When you are sinking, the immediate decision is to hold a lifeline, not understand fluid mechanics.

Again, things don’t have to make sense to each of us personally to act. When we use a ruler, do we ask – ‘is this really one metre’? Students of physics understand that it is a tall order to establish things like that. That’s why we have to trust others: that’s how the world works. Our personal reservations aside, getting a vaccine is good for us, our community, and the ones we love. In short, it is the most pragmatic thing that one can do today. This is true to 2.4 billion people and counting who have been vaccinated to date.

Probably it is time that some of us admit that we are also afraid. We have been inundated with information that has greatly amplified our fears, and yes, vaccines can potentially cause all manner of very unlikely extreme reactions in our bodies. But, as they say, bravery is not the absence of fear but acting regardless of fear.

Doubting is free, but if you insist on braving the pandemic without the vaccine, what you are really saying is that the noisy clowns who reject the vaccine know what they are talking about better than WHO, CDC, and all the health institutions in the world.

That’s brave!

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