HEALTH: Dealing with Covid-19 vaccine sceptics

Only 22% of those eligible for phase 2 of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme had registered as of March 28. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star

As of March 28 (2021), about 30% of Malaysians aged 18 and above had registered to receive a Covid-19 vaccine.

And out of those at high risk of developing and dying from severe Covid-19 – senior citizens (aged 60 and above), those with co-morbidities (concurrent illnesses) and the disabled (OKU) – only slightly over one in five (22.2%) had registered for the vaccine.

In fact, in Selangor – current national leader in terms of number of new cases – around 90% of senior citizens had yet to register for the vaccine, Selangor Task Force for Covid-19 chairman Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad told the media on March 21 (2021).

There is an obvious problem of vaccine hesitancy among Malaysians.

We're not just talking about hardcore anti-vaxxers here, but also a significant number of sensible, educated folks who otherwise have no issues with vaccines in general.

For most of us who believe in getting vaccinated against Covid-19 as soon as possible, coming up against these people – who are often our own relatives, friends or colleagues – can be quite frustrating.

This is especially so when they have obviously been taken in by vaccine misinformation – much of which has been forwarded or shared many times on messaging apps and social media.

While our first instinct may be to scold them for believing in such untruths, this is likely to be counterproductive – after all, who likes to be scolded?

We need to remember that at the heart of this refusal or hesitancy to be vaccinated is fear and concern for their health or the health of their loved ones.

And fear is best assuaged through patient compassion and understanding.

Take the time to sit down and get to the heart of their concern, especially for those who want to "wait and see lah".

Perhaps the actual issue is that they do not understand exactly how the mRNA technology of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines work; or that they believe their chances of getting Covid-19 are really low; or that they distrust how the vaccines were developed in such a comparatively short period of time.

All these issues (and many others) have been addressed by various scientific and health experts.

So, if you don't have the precise answers to reassure them at your fingertips, it's just a matter of going the extra mile to search for this information online.

Think of it as your way of embodying the spirit of "Kita jaga kita".

After all, current data only confirms that the individual who receives an approved Covid-19 vaccine is protected from developing the disease, we don't yet know for sure whether these vaccines also stop us from being infected by, and transmitting, the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19.

So, in order to truly "Kita jaga kita", we need to all play our part in achieving the herd immunity confered by 80% of the population being vaccinated against Covid-19.

And that's not just through getting vaccinated ourselves, but also convincing the vaccine sceptics in our lifes that it really is safe – and crucial – for them to get vaccinated too.