In spite of the current need for the Covid-19 vaccine rollout to prevent the spread of this deadly pandemic, vaccines are generally essential for safety, travel requirements, and economic growth.
Perspective: What’s Different
In contrast to the divide between pro-vaccine advocates and anti-vaccine advocates in Western countries, the number of people in Asia who reject receiving the vaccine is relatively low. The reasonable explanation may go back to the history of the epidemic. An outbreak of SARS began in Guangdong, China in 2003, then spread to 26 countries worldwide and killed 774 people. Then we had H1N1, Ebola in Africa, MERS outbreak in South Korea that originated in the Middle East, and Africa. (Little, 2020). Most of the diseases spread faster in Asian countries and had long-term effects on the population. Therefore, there is a belief that people assume vaccinations and treatments are important regardless of the kind of disease.
Is Asia more aware of the importance of vaccines in minimizing risks of the diseases than the West? Maybe there’s more to tell.
“My Body, My Choice”
Meanwhile, the Western world is witnessing an increase in people who refuse vaccinations. I’ve never heard the statement “My body, my choice.” used so often to describe this segmentation. From my perspective, both Canada and the U.S have been continually raised by individuals who believe that vaccines are basically a joke and that forcing people to vaccinate is a violation of human rights.
It is still recommended to get vaccinated by both governments and the media in each country, and medical evidence is shown to support those recommendations. However, we can only recommend them, not force them.
Vaccine Is Apparently Doing Its Job
Vaccine Covid-19 plays a critical role in reviving the world economy. With vaccines being distributed at an early stage, North America and Europe have made it easier to open business establishments, restaurants, public spaces, schools, etc., but the international border has not yet been opened. That’s great news to recognize vaccines as part of the economic recovery. Covid-19 has witnessed the worst epidemic since 2020 in my homeland, Vietnam, where the number of infected has reached half a million and its deaths have risen exponentially. As of this point, the fairly widespread vaccination program did wonders for safety and recovery of the economy of the country.
As a result of safety and the chance of not getting infected, if there is infection, the symptoms should be mild. Traveling to any country where you need to is now as easy as getting a vaccine passport.
If you ask me if I am pro or anti, my answers are outlined above. Since the Covid-19 vaccine was first rolled out, I was skeptical. Seeing the economy recover and people starting to socialize again, I completely changed my mind. I now believe each person who gets vaccinated has made a small effort and will contribute to a safer, and better world.
I don’t criticize anti-vaxxers aggressively for not getting immunized to help the economy thrive again. I have no problem with the statement “My body, my choice”. Just because they want their way does not give me the right to interfere. Although some unvaccinated people have passed away as a result of Covid, another part of me feels there is time to rethink anti-vaxxers and come to a decision. The reason I feel optimistic is that the number of vaccinated people is overtaking the number of unvaccinated people, creating a herd immunity between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated.
These examples prove that vaccines are effective since Covid-19 is considered as one of the deadliest diseases in history. A new normality, however, since the pandemic, is just around the corner in 2021. Although little is known about the future of the virus, medical and technological innovations are continually making efforts to prevent it. I am grateful and place my faith in science and technology.
