Contradictheory: How to get reluctant family members onboard with vaccination

Despite the technical hiccoughs during the last round of registration for the AstraZeneca vaccine, one million doses successfully booked means one million more Malaysians made safe. — AFP

It was not my intention to write about Covid-19 in my last column for May 2021. Why should I write about fear and frustration? I should pick another topic. Something fun and optimistic perhaps.

Then again, sometimes when there’s nothing else to talk about, the words just flow out.

It all started in the last week of May 2021 when we started to see a rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country. It grew from about 1,500 cases a day in mid-April 2021 to 9,020 cases on May 29. My friends and family weren’t really surprised. We had already heard gossip among our chat groups of SOP-breaking during the fasting month of Ramadan, whispers of conspiracies that eventually came to light in the press, like people conducting tarawih prayers in secret, or crowded breaking fast events at hotels.

We wondered, was the government’s message unclear? Were the constant reminders somehow misunderstood? But I felt it was because the government sent mixed messages. There was a contradiction between what the Health Ministry’s director-general was saying and the broader policies of what was and wasn’t allowed. For example, the decision to allow Ramadan bazaars to operate was clearly based on the misplaced optimism that Malaysians wouldn’t gather in large crowds to buy food and forget about the physical distancing. And people didn’t seem to want to stay safe at home. I heard about one woman who didn’t want to take a free Covid-19 test in case it turned out to be positive and it meant she could not balik kampung (return to her home town) for Hari Raya.

Even on Hari Raya itself on May 13 and 14, I heard stories. One was about a relative who was called a “spoilsport” because she declined to go to a friend’s open house. Another was about somebody who declined to salam (shake hands with) a distant relative at their father’s house and who then heard their 10-year-old daughter being told, “Oh, I can’t salam you because your parents are doctors”.

It all added up to a Raya with a bit of stress on the side. At least I got to share my ketupat (rice cakes) at home virtually with friends over video conferencing.

Conversation during Raya was mostly about Covid-19 and the different vaccines. Generally, everyone I chatted with was keen to get vaccinated, not only for themselves but also for their relatives. This was in part because of the AstraZeneca slots opening up on May 23, for people over 60 years old.

We could already see signs of vaccine hesitation among our own family members, with about half expressing doubt. Meanwhile, daily case numbers just kept spiralling upwards.

We got on the phones to talk to them. We knew we had to stay calm and tell our relatives it’s a good thing to do, it will keep you safe. Inside, I wanted to shout down the phone, to scream at them that I want them to get vaccinated because I don’t want them to get ill and die.

We stuck to the message: Take the vaccine, we’re here to help you in whatever way we can.

Eventually, news began to trickle in. One aunt was still hesitant because she believed the Astra-Zeneca vaccine was made in India and didn’t want to take it (while India’s Serum Institute is manufacturing Covishield under license from AstraZeneca, the original vaccine is manufactured in Oxford and Keele in Britain, and Leiden in the Netherlands, and Siam Bioscience in Thailand has made test batches). But otherwise it was good news. One family member who I would have dubbed anti-vaccination turned around and the children registered them. Another who was hesitant (the wife of a doctor, no less) eventually acceded.

There was a lot of good news elsewhere too. In the end, 275,208 people over 60 registered for the AstraZeneca vaccine. Given that only half of the 3.5 million over 60s in Malaysia had registered for vaccination in early May, I can’t help but feel this exercise managed to persuade some of those who were on the fence to come down on the right side.

I think this encouraged more people to try and sign up for the second opt in round on May 26, but they were unfortunately let down by the booking system. People were trying to get registered, but it wasn’t clear if the website was accepting their attempts. It was like shouting at a closed door and not having any idea if anybody could hear you.

I am trying to look at this another way, though. I am happy that demand for vaccination is currently exceeding supply. And it’s easier to fix computers than it is to change people’s minds. One million doses successfully booked on May 26 means one million more Malaysians made safe.

All the while, the messaging between friends and close family has been consistent: Keep safe by staying at home and getting vaccinated. And practice what you preach.

I feel the government must do much better in sending this message to all fronts. What does it sound like if you say “stay at home” yet also say “you can stay up to two hours in a shopping mall” ? Why not just say, “if you need to shop for important provisions, go alone and spend as little time outside as possible”? They are finally doing this with the current total lockdown that began today, June 1, so better late than never, I guess.

And for people who want to get vaccinated and are waiting, I would suggest the government work harder to keep them up to date with progress, and help them out quickly if something goes wrong. The last thing you want are people giving up because it’s “too hard”.

I think if we can keep on message and stick to it, we can be assured that things will work out in the end and that, at least, gives me hope.

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In his fortnightly column, Contradictheory, mathematician-turned-scriptwriter Dzof Azmi explores the theory that logic is the antithesis of emotion but people need both to make sense of life’s vagaries and contradictions. Write to Dzof at [e-mail]. The views expressed here are entirely the writer's own.