TITLE:
Vaccine Hesitancy—A Persistant Pandemic and Continued Threat to Global Health
AUTHORS:
Ethan Ayaan Mir
KEYWORDS:
Vaccine, Vaccine Hesitancy, Anti-vaxxers, Pandemic, Covid-19, Social Media, Politics
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,
Vol.11 No.3,
March
14,
2023
ABSTRACT: Last time the world faced a deadly pandemic was the H1N1 Spanish flu in 1918, which affected almost one third of the world’s population (500 million people). Since then, almost 100 years later, we are now facing another pandemic of the SARS-CoV2 virus (Covid-19), which is still endemic to this day. As technology evolved during those 100 years, an effective vaccine for Covid-19 was produced within only a year, a huge feat. But, unfortunately, due to its fast development, another force would arise limiting the impact of the vaccine: Vacccine hesitancy and anti-vaxxers, which John Hopkins and the World Health Organization call the biggest current threat to global health. From politics to social media, it is clear that there has been a rapid spread of misinformation, resulting in hesitancy, especially from sociopolitically motivated people popularly referred to as antivaccers. However, a second group of vaccine-hesitant people have also emerged, who are uneducated and remain undecided about vaccination mostly due to safety concerns. They come under the massive influence of anti-vaxxers and anti-vaccine propaganda through social media and politicians, which often make bold claims and huge headlines. To combat vaccine hesitancy, it is crucial that we debunk these conspiracy theories and misinformation that so many believe in, with factual, data-based information. Actively spreading correct information about the vaccines, such as disclosing the rigorous developmental processes and validation of safety data by the FDA, assurance for unlikeliness of getting a lethal side effect along with tremendous health benefits, will encourage people to safe vaccination against Covid-19 and other potentially infectious diseases in future. This article discusses the role of anti-vaxxers and vaccine hesitancy groups, electronic social media, and politics in vaccine hesitancy among people. It describes the strategies to combat the roadblocks in the vaccination programs and health benefits, offered by recent advances in scientific and technological developments.