Many of us grew up being told that vaccinations were important even receiving them in schools is common practice, so why does it feel like there is a wave of panic surrounding the incoming covid-19 vaccines?
Well, it would seem that although much of the conspiracy surrounding the vaccines are just the expected social media created nonsense that accompanies any story considered to be mainstream, there is some genuine panic beneath, and perhaps a resurgence of the ‘5G causes cancer’ mob might be on the horizon with the vaccine expected to be released in the coming month/s.
Boris Johnson has appointed Nadhim Zahawi as a health minister responsible for the deployment of the coronavirus vaccine co-founder of YouGov Mr. Zahawi will hold the office until ‘at least the summer’ according to Downing Street. The UK government had attempted to ensure the placement of a Union Jack on each of the vaccine kits however this was not something that materialized, and the idea seems to have been halted for the moment.
Vaccinations have been at the forefront of conspiracy theorist’s arguments for years; globally many people consider themselves ‘anti-vax’ and believe in different long-term side-effects of the medicine. However, in the UK, there has been only a slight decrease in the vaccination rates among children -according to NHS statistics: “DTnaP/IPV/Hib coverage declined for all ages. Coverage at 12 months was 92.1%, its lowest since 2008–09. Coverage at 24 months was 94.2%, the first time it dropped below the 95% target since 2008–09.”
A survey done by University College London found that only 49% of participants were “very likely” to receive the covid-19 vaccine. This is a cause for great concern at first glance it suggests that perhaps the greater threat to the health of the British people is in fact itself, not the echoes of an incompetent government and the disregard for solidarity amongst classes.
If the promise of a vaccine is pushed or in fact altered in any way before its expected arrival, we will see a larger push towards panic and return to the uncertainty that unfolded in the early months of this year. Assuming there are any problems arising from the vaccination deals sought by the UK, like the fact it has participated in the same advanced purchase agreements as with the Swine-Flu regarding which the WHO stated: “Research shows that during the 2009 swine flu pandemic the supply of vaccines was dominated by advance purchase agreements with wealthy states.
“We talk about the 90/10 divide in global health — 90% of the world’s pharmaceutical products serve 10% of the world’s population. This is part of that story,”
Similarly to the UK public’s panic buying at the beginning of lockdown, we appear to have gone full circle as a country and our Conservative government is proving that not all relatability is favourability — the idea that we the UK, are filling our shopping basket beyond capacity while the vulnerable and less financially comfortable nations wait to pick the remains. Treating these nations like our inferiors is not an inescapable reality of trade but in fact a deliberate omission of responsibility from the developed countries of our globe.
Unfortunately, all of the vaccines currently pending are yet to leave their final stages of study and are being accompanied by warnings of only 60/70% efficacy; this does sound imperfect and to many people, the risk of a long term detriment from the vaccine outweighs the risk of the virus itself. This is a logical fallacy the risk of the vaccine does not outweigh the risk of COVID-19 according to any reliable health professional, it is simply an imperfect vaccine that provides the best protection against COVID-19 that we have available. Almost none of the vaccinations we have taken in our lifetimes are fully functional, according to immune.org: “tetanus — 96% protected 13–14 years, 72% >25 years”, “Mumps → 10 years in 90%, waning slowly over time”
Overall, the fear of the virus and the fear of 20% of the UK who don’t wish to receive a vaccine are parallel they could be equally damaging, and people claiming a lack of government transparency are factually wrong — the truth is that there is a wealth of information being made concurrently available via media sources and NHS resources. This information, for the most part, is not in the eye of the beholder, it’s not open to interpretation and there is as much evidence to suggest an overall conspiracy regarding the vaccine, as there was in the American polling stations on the 3rd. of November.
