Like so many things with the SARS-CoV-2. The issue of vaccine hesitancy is complex, sadly.
Because the South Africa and indeed the world is facing a still rapidly spreading and mutating virus and the issue appears to be less now about vaccine access and equity then it is about overcoming a clear lack of public confidence in not only the vaccine but in government, experts and the media.
The early wavering & missteps of the WHO certainly didn’t help when they originally claimed it wasn’t airborne & masks didn’t help - then doing a 180.
Then the clamping down on the genesis of the virus out of Wuhan (where they have their Institute of Virology lab) by the Chinese again shrouded Covid with scepticism, doubt, nefarious agendas and then, many spook & conspiracy theories.
So right from the start there was a HUGE job to educate and separate fact from fiction.
We have had presidents like Trump and Bolsanaro offering cures like Hydroxychloroquine , a guy like Fauci allegedly involved behind the scenes with other “interests”, Ivermectin as a cure and then a host of anti-vaxx doctors and organisation. So it’s no wonder people are confused & fearful.
It hasn’t helped either that much of the money for an effective media and communications campaign was chowed by digital vibes.
The question is what can be done about. I’ve had my Pfizer jab. I’m not finding the 5G signal all that great and I certainly didn’t have a single side effect.
To talk about this Michael Avery is joined by Dr Kerrigan McCarthy, Pathologist: Centre for Vaccines and Immunology, at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases; Dr Stavros Nicolaou, head of the health working group for B4SA and Jane Simmonds. Project Manager, South African Medical Research Council
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