Bhogtoram Mawroh
A few days ago I came to know that my friend’s mother had contracted the Covid-19 virus. She has been admitted in a hospital and is currently stable. Following protocols, he and his family are under isolation. I called him to ask about his mother and in the course of the discussion my friend narrated an incident which happened right after his mother got the virus. A neighbour visited the family without the mask. He declared to my friend that he does not believe in the authenticity of the disease and declared that all of it was a hoax. My friend was annoyed and asked him to leave. What infuriated my friend was the completely insensitive attitude of the neighbour who tried to downplay the grave concerns that the family were having. Someone my friend knew very well had recently passed away from Covid-19. Setting aside the obnoxious behaviour, the neighbour is not alone in harbouring such opinions.
Although the vaccination drive has been going on for some time, there are many who are not yet convinced by the safety of the vaccine. I know close friends who are unwilling to take the vaccine. There are many reasons for it which range from the implausible to the genuine. Some of the most improbable claims come from conspiracy theorist and anti-vaxxers who are spreading misinformation about the vaccines. The one about how the vaccine contained microchips was quite persistent in 2020. One would be surprised as to how many people actually believe in conspiracy theories about covid-19 being a hoax. Then there are genuine fears about the safety of the vaccine and its effectiveness in preventing the current strain of infection. With people who have been vaccinated being infected, such fears have only been reinforced. I was myself very concerned about the efficacy of the vaccine during the early part of the year.
With India trying to outdo/emulate other nations, it announced the administration of Covaxin even before the third phase, which is the testing of the efficacy phase was completed. While the vaccine had been demonstrated to be safe, the tests to determine whether it can prevent Covid-19 had not been completed. This is something I came to know from Karan Thapar’s interview with the former Director of AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Science) MC Mishra. In the interview Mishra vouched for the safety of the vaccine but was not very convincing about its efficacy. In fact, he admitted the data for efficacy were not available. Basically the argument that Karan Thapar made was that the Indian public was being used as guinea pigs to test the vaccine. India could have waited for at least a month till all the trials were complete. But the rush to be among the first was too strong for a government which believes in headlines management rather than governance. For those who would like to watch the interview they can go to the following link. https://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=NzJAezaB3P5g&t=121s
Recently massive election rallies were being held in Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. In Meghalaya we had campaigns for our own District Council elections in Garo Hills. The aggressive campaigning gave the impression that Covid-19 had been defeated and social distancing and protocols be damned. Cases unsurprisingly started rising and prominent leaders like Rahul Gandhi contracted the virus. He cancelled his campaigning and exhorted others to do the same. Then there was the news that CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury’s son had died of Covid-19. Recently a friend whom I had met during a workshop requested for an oxygen cylinder for her brother on Facebook. It was heart-wrenching to listen to her pleas. All this in many ways was brought about the apathetic attitude of our elected officials who flouted the protocols when it suited them. Our own Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong did not consider the election rallies as ‘super spreader events’. What this effectively means is that it is the public who is to be blamed for the rise in cases and not the State machinery which was complicit in flouting protocols. There was also a picture of the sitting Chief Minister Conrad Sangma without his mask standing with a large group of people during the campaign. If the highest officials of the State through their actions demonstrate that Covid-19 is benign does it not give credibility to the claims that the disease is actually not serious? How can the State then blame those who make the same argument?
Now the campaigning is over everyone is being asked to follow protocols. The drive for vaccination has been intensified. However, because of the apprehensions created by conspiracy theorist, anti-vaxxers and government actions many are still unwilling to take the vaccine. The state has therefore decided to come hard on such groups with the Deputy Commissioner of West Khasi Hills, Tableland Lyngwa bringing out the notification that all the taxi drivers and shop keepers in the district will have to go for vaccination. Failure to comply with the order will result in revocation of the licences and permits. After ineptitude comes totalitarianism. This move has the potential to backfire spectacularly.
Suppose the administration is somehow able to force people to take the vaccine, what happens when some of the unwilling recipients were to fall severely ill or worse not because of the vaccine but because of other ailments? There will be those who will make the point out that it proved that the vaccine is dangerous. In many cases, rumours don’t even need to be true but the repercussions are going to be very real. Even those who may be willing to go for the shots may start having second thoughts. The pushback against the vaccine will get intensified and then whatever gains that could have been achieved would be lost. Since it is an intrusive directive and ignores consent I am not sure about the legal implications of such an order. Maybe some legal experts can shed more light on this. Whatever the legality of such an order, this echoes of the forced sterilisation that happened during the Indian Emergency. I am not sure many people fondly remember that period of Indian history.
There is no denying that Covid-19 is real and vaccination is one of the ways to stop it. This is something that was known a year ago when the virus first appeared. That there will be people who will be reluctant to accept vaccination was also well known. One has only to look at other immunisation programs in the State to understand that. What was the State machinery doing all this time? Sitting around a table, having tea/lunch and gossiping? They should have gone into an overdrive to make sure that when the vaccines are ready people’s fears would have been quelled. As always we are playing catch up and many will suffer because of it.
Another friend called me and told me that he heard that teachers (he is one) will be forced to go for vaccinations. If they refuse they will face punishment. Is that a rumour or a fact? Notwithstanding, he is adamant that he will not comply with it. In my family my father has taken the vaccine and I am arranging one for my mother. Once vaccination is open for all I will take one myself. But for those who are unconvinced, force is not going to help. Instead efforts must be made to reach out to them. This is not to be done only by making some posters or videos. There has to be a physical visit (with social distancing) where they are made aware of the safety of the vaccine. The religious bodies could be recruited which will be very helpful in convincing the reluctant. Maybe the order in West Khasi Hills is a trial by the Government to see if anyone opposes the move? If no objections are raised they will force it on others as well. This could have devastating repercussions and it will only add to the problems. We need to defeat Covid-19 and we have to do it together. Arrogance has already brought us to this stage. It will not help us get out of it.
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