Taken in by dubious facts

PETALING JAYA: The less-than-ideal uptake in Covid-19 vaccine registration so far is because of trust issues, say medical and public health experts.

They attribute the low numbers to the circulation of dubious information including hearsay, and have called on the government to utilise all its resources to clear any doubts and instil trust in the vaccines among the public.

Universiti Malaya professor of occupational and public health Prof Dr Victor Hoe said some people had the misconception that the vaccines were unsafe or that some were better than others.

“When I held community engagements with residents, I found there were still many people who did not trust the safety of the vaccines. They were worried about possible adverse effects of taking the vaccines.

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“They told us that they received news through social media and friends about the vaccines’ safety and efficacy, ” he said.

Dr Hoe said the low uptake could also be due to many people not having a smartphone to register themselves for the inoculation and urged the government to make use of all its resources to bridge the gap between technology and trust.

“The move should not just involve the Health Ministry but all levels, from village heads and community leaders to state assemblymen and MPs. They should organise engagement sessions with people on the ground to help them register and also to clear doubts regarding the vaccines.

“However, all of them should have been inoculated against the coronavirus first to ensure people’s confidence in the vaccines, ” he said.

As for states with a low registration rate,

Dr Hoe said if the campaigns to promote better understanding and uptake of the vaccine failed, they should be reassessed.

“The cause of concerns should be addressed adequately without blaming any party, ” he said.

Dr Hoe, however, is not in favour of making Covid-19 vaccination compulsory.

The Special Committee on Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee has said that as at April 10, only over 8.4 million of the targeted 26.7 million people had registered.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba recently said the government would identify the causes of the slow uptake while Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Malaysia might review its voluntary Covid-19 vaccination policy come July if the rate was still low.

Malaysian Public Health Physicians Association president Datuk Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar said a majority of Malaysians were still adopting a “wait and see” approach.

“They see it as not urgent and think there’s still time before the actual vaccination (involving the public) starts, ” he said.

Dr Zainal Ariffin said the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force needed to understand community behaviour and the dynamics of vaccination programmes.

“The most important outcome is the actual vaccination coverage, ” he said.

Agreeing that some citizens do have problems accessing registration channels and need help with it, Dr Zainal Ariffin suggested the government consider mass walk-in vaccinations when more vaccines are available.

He, too, thinks it is not necessary to make Covid-19 immunisation compulsory.

Universiti Malaya professor of epidemiology and public health Prof Dr Sanjay Rampal said more health experts need to critically appraise the benefits of the vaccines without pre-formed biases.

“This will increase trust in the translation of science and how it benefits the community... our opinions tend to be polarised through social media.

“Maintaining trust and goodwill is key to increasing vaccine uptake by the community, ” he said.

To encourage communities to register Dr Sanjay proposed having roadshows in shopping complexes, workplaces and community centres including at PPR (People’s Housing Projects) flats and villages.