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Despite the commencement of immunization programmes, it would seem that many still need some convincing over the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.
At the time of writing, CNN has compiled an elaborate list of countries and territories with statistics on both fully and partially vaccinated individuals. While Singapore recorded 27.6 percent fully vaccinated individuals, other Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam reported a mere 3.7 percent, 1.40 percent and less than one percent respectively.
Malaysia has also shown a low percentage of fully-vaccinated individuals, currently at 3.1 percent of the population.
An elder man receiving his vaccination dose. IMAGE: EPA-EFE
Meanwhile, approximately 11.5 million Malaysians have registered for the COVID-19 vaccination while only about 1.8 million people have been successfully vaccinated, according to the official website of The Special Committee for Ensuring Access to COVID-19 Vaccine Supply (JKJAV). This would mean that there is still a long way to go before the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme can successfully achieve its aim to vaccinate at least 80 percent of the population.
However, in Malaysia, the 80 percent immunization goal itself seems quite a far-fetched as there has been a recent public outcry about the registration process, along with the underlying issue of vaccine hesitancy and resistance bubbling to the surface.
The COVID-19 situation in the country has worsened since April and cases have reached an all-time high. In March 2021, Selangor Task Force for Covid-19 (STFC) chairman Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad, reported that there was an alarming 90 percent of elderly citizens in Selangor alone who had not registered for vaccination. It is important that misinformation and distrust about vaccine side effects be acknowledged and addressed.
Here's how we can allay vaccine hesitancy.
One way to do it is to spread reassurance through sharing pictures of those who have been successfully vaccinated without major side effects. This is what Khairulaming, a popular food vlogger has done by encouraging his followers to share and tag him in pictures of elder relatives getting vaccinated so that he could repost them. With this, Khairulaming, whose full name is Khairul Amin Kamarulzaman, hopes to deter any fears or doubts that may arise due to anti-vaccination propaganda.
Kalau parents anda masih tak yakin nak ambil vaksin, pls show them my ig stories. I have reposted sebanyak mungkin gambar2 warga emas yg dah selamat ambil vaccine, termasuk yg berumur 90 lebih. Ada beratus lagi stories yang orang ramai dah tag tapi belum repost lagi ?? pic.twitter.com/Yu3lkRSyFT — Khairulaming (@khairulaming) May 26, 2021
“If your parents still aren’t confident enough to take the vaccine, please show them my Instagram Stories,” wrote Khairul.
Khairul's posts and the posts of others sharing images of people getting immunized could potentially reduce fear among those who've been worried about vaccine side effects or scared off by anti-vaxxers. Fear doesn’t have a face, it has no preferred class, gender, age or race. If an elder person can be safely vaccinated, youngsters need not be afraid.
But of course, do not post selfies with your vaccination cards on social media. The repercussions might be too disastrous to even imagine. You could open yourself up to risks of having your personal information stolen by scammers.
There are currently around 209 million COVID-19 vaccines being administered across Asia in the first three months of 2021. This would come to about 836 million administered in a year. At this rate, it has been predicted that it would take about 5 and half years to vaccinate the entire population of Asia.
Asia is making slow progress in vaccination programmes. It's bad enough that the lack of access has caused a serious lag in vaccination rollouts, the reluctance to vaccinate bred by innaccurate information is a factor which we can all overcome together. It's a team effort and everyone should do their part in order to completely eradicate this pandemic.
Just remember, fear is a universal human emotion. During these difficult times, we could all use a little reassurance, even if it is through the medium of pictures.
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Cover image sourced from Bernama/Malay Mail.
