Transparency Is Crucial In Covid Vaccines

Social media has become a powerful tool for many Batswana with a number of people whether proper or not resorting to air their grievances on the networking platforms. While it is common knowledge that not everything posted on social media is true, some individuals have made it a norm to post online. They post everything from death notices of loved ones while some do not even hesitate to announce the cause of death. A while ago, it was announced that two elderly people died shortly after receiving their COVID-19 vaccinations. Since then, a considerable number of unconfirmed cases of people dying after being vaccinated for COVID-19 continue to trickle in. It is of course not peculiar to Botswana. A number of countries have reported deaths linked to the vaccines. In some countries, the deaths have led to some of the vaccines being put on hold to investigate the cause of deaths. While Botswana may not have reported as many vaccine-related deaths as other countries, one death is one too many and yes, in our small communities the few deaths are enough to cause a panic. Botswana is one of the countries that started their vaccinations rollout a little late and still it seems there was no proper plan in place. The initial announcement was that all individuals aged 55 and above with underlying conditions were eligible for the first phase of the vaccination rollout. However, the tables quickly turned when the age target changed to 75 and above. During the initial stages, many while unsure of the side effects of the vaccines, were forced by fear of contracting the virus to rush and take the jabs. But now many are starting to panic and wonder if it was a good idea to take the COVID-19 vaccine or not. Understandably, most of these vaccines were developed at warp speed. The side effects have not been fully established, but Batswana need to be kept abreast with information as it becomes available on these vaccines. While many young Batswana have access to the internet and can carryout research on different vaccines, it is also not every Motswana who has access to the same information. Therefore, government needs to get out of its comfort zone and find ways of making information on vaccination available to every citizen of Botswana and foreign nationals staying in the country. Not only that, the information needs to be personalised to allow different communities to understand the intended messages. All Batswana, the young, middle-aged and elderly, need proper information on the safety of all the vaccines available in the country. We need transparency!