In my view: To vaccinate or not – that is the question

The Covid-19 pandemic has unsettled our lives to such an extent that ‘normal’ is almost a distant memory. The wearing of masks, sanitising and social distancing has now become the norm – for how much longer no-one has the answer.

I have been following the pandemic since the beginning – reporting on and reading up on it – not only in the South African context but the global impact of the virus too.

Having spread like wildfire and with new variants being discovered around the globe – it’s almost too much information to take in at most times.

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When vaccines were manufactured to fight the virus – everyone breathed a collective of sigh of relief – but in reality how true is this?

I think the question on most people’s minds right now is whether to vaccinate or not?

Currently vaccines are not compulsory, it is a decision that only an individual can make.

One can talk about the pros and cons to family, friends and colleagues but cannot influence their decision.

There are a few topics of conversation that are taboo – politics, religion and now vaccines – if one values friendships and family ties.

And the abundance of conspiracy theories on the safety of the vaccines are everywhere – one of the more fanatical theories being that chips are being implanted when one receives the jab.

Personally, while I was not against taking the vaccine – I too became slightly hesitant (not because of the wild conspiracies) but on reading about people experiencing severe reactions after vaccinating.

Nonetheless, I decided to bite the bullet and took the first of the two-dose Pfizer vaccine.

Luckily, I had no averse reaction, just a sore arm.

Now and then I question myself whether it was the right decision, but if I look at it in the big picture context, I had the choice of a vaccine.

While wealthier nations have vaccinated large numbers of their populations (the European Union of 28 member countries has fully vaccinated 250 million people) poorer countries have received very few vaccines or none at all.

People in these countries don’t have the choice when it comes to the vaccine. Is it now survival of the fittest for them?

According to the Department of Health’s latest data, the government has rolled out 12 568 525 vaccines since the start of the country’s vaccination programme. The data also shows that there are now 5 985 293 adults who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Globally, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre the total cases of infections stood at over 217 200 000 and over 4,500 000 deaths. The total vaccine doses administered worldwide are over 5 billion.

Have enough people being vaccinated?

One should remember that it is now the 21st century and medicine has advanced exponentially – I will leave it at that because at the end of day, it’s your choice to take the jab or not.

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