16 September 2021, by Noel Davy
COVID vaccines, although beneficial and considered “life-saving”, are still the object of boycott of many populations, especially in Africa. This widespread skepticism is the reason that some countries are forced to throw millions of doses of vaccines in the trash, due to not having sufficient people willing to be vaccinated. This is particularly the case in Malawi where the authorities had to “incinerate more than 16,910 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine”, because some Malawians refused the vaccines. South Sudan was forced to return 72,000 doses of vaccines, for lack of “arm to prick”[1].
The fight against coronavirus disease has led to the development of vaccines that provide both immunity and hope for a return to normal social life. However, there has been protests from individuals who are reluctant to vaccine calling for respect for individual rights and freedoms. There is an urgent need to understand the root causes of such behavior, as vaccination campaigns, even the most persuasive, struggle to change opinions, while the delta variant itself, always adds more victims. This blog aims to address the question of why such mistrust of COVID-19 vaccines still persist.
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