Refusing vaccine is anti-social

It is at times of crisis – such as that precipitated by the coronavirus pandemic – that we see the best and the worst in people. A disturbing trend, in many countries, has been the move to turn basic health precautions into a political football. In many nations, people who view themselves as free spirits who prize their independence, characterise the injunction to wear masks to curtail virus spread as some sort of sinister plot to control them.

There is substantial evidence that face coverings do, indeed, cut down on the transmission of the virus through the air.

Naturally, no mask is 100% effective, but wearing one is still the right thing to do if you respect the rights and freedoms of others as much as your own. Not wearing a mask increases your chances of transmitting the virus if you are infected but asymptomatic … in other words, you are putting others at risk.

That logic permeates the thinking of the “antivaxxers” – those people who believe vaccinations are an evil way to control or poison parts of the world’s population, or those who feel vaccines can actually cause illness. That ignores the proven medical reality that vaccines have prevented millions of deaths and saved even more from lives of suffering.

It is worrying that one in three South Africans said in a recent survey by the Ipos market research group that they would not take a Covid-19 vaccine, if one is developed. While they can say they are protecting their own health by avoiding any possible side-effects of the vaccine, they are also exposing themselves to Covid-19 infection. And when infected, they could spread the virus to the vulnerable, such as the elderly, the immuno-compromised and those with comorbidities, for whom Covid-19 could be a death sentence.

That is more than selfish; it is anti-social.