With what we experienced in 2020 – lives turned upside down, livelihoods decimated, and endless quarantines and lockdowns brought on by the pandemic – the answer to the question of whether or not one should get vaccinated, seems obvious.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme started in March with Phase One involving frontliners. Today, the programme is already in Phase Two, with Phase Three scheduled to begin this month.
A vaccination roll-out of this magnitude is no easy feat as it requires surgically precise coordination, communication and a whole lot of hard work, patience and tolerance by every single person involved.
However, progress seems slow and there are reports of supply issues as well.
Stakeholders, namely government agencies, seem to be doing the best they can, although certain standard operating procedures (SOPs) can be further enhanced and modified to ensure practicality.
Coordination, communication, efficiency and a practical vaccination appointment system can be further formulated.
General practitioners have played a vital role in vaccination programmes for decades, and they will no doubt continue to be a part of this important effort in our recovery phase.
To date, over 2,000 general practitioners’ clinics nationwide have signed up to be Covid-19 vaccine providers. Such services will commence this month, in addition to the government vaccination centres.
This will help in the government’s efforts to increase the nation’s vaccination rate towards achieving herd immunity.
Their close proximity to the communities, and more importantly, the trust placed in them by patients, go a long way towards vaccine acceptance and uptake.
Time and time again, it’s been demonstrated in many studies that doctors’ recommendations are vital to significantly increase vaccine uptake.
Vaccine hesitancy, myths and conspiracy theories may derail our vaccine programme, and it is the duty of each and every doctor to keep themselves informed of global scientific advancements, facts, and guidelines by regulatory authorities.
In addition, sharing such information in an open, transparent and factual manner is crucial in ensuring high-quality preventive healthcare.
Rightfully so, members of the public will certainly want to know if the Covid-19 vaccine truly works, whether it is safe, and what are the side effects, if any.
We are flooded with endless information and social media messages that may overwhelm, confuse and in some instances, are just plain scary.
There are also fake news and outrageous allegations making their rounds, propagated repeatedly on social media, fuelled by questionable motives by the creators, and forwarded by the ill-informed among us.
Sharing and forwarding fake or unverified news is not only wrong, but may potentially cause real harm and threaten lives.
Fact-checking messages before pressing the forward button should be made mandatory.
There is also the saying: “association is not causation”. Often, we read or hear of someone suffering “severe side effects” after a medication, treatment or even vaccination.
If an untoward event occurred right after vaccination, we may mistakenly call it a “side effect”, when the same can occur in someone who had never taken the vaccine.
To just simply declare causation without employing scientific methods to determine if these effects are really caused by the vaccination, may cause real harm to many.
Nothing is without risks. Accept a vaccination and its possible side effects, or refuse it and risk being infected with a life-threatening disease? The answer should be obvious. The benefits of vaccination often far outweigh non-vaccination.
Yet many don’t bat an eyelid and certainly don’t debate or think twice when they buy a pack of cigarettes or hold functions and mass gatherings that dramatically increase the risk of Covid-19 infections.
It’s critical that when we make decisions, we don’t lose sight of the bigger picture because we are too focused on the details. A case of missing the forest for the trees.
Covid-19 vaccines are like any other vaccine. They save lives, livelihoods, economies and allow us to regain our most cherished freedoms.
It is not the only answer to ending the Covid-19 pandemic, but it is a giant step towards a post-Covid-19 world.
So, let’s just all get vaccinated!
This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Twentytwo13.
