Jab fears ‘Covid-specific’

AN INCREASE in vaccine hesitancy and scepticism among south Asian communities has been directly linked to the pandemic.

Researchers from Imperial College and City University of London found that people’s reactions to vaccines before the pandemic was “easy and unproblematic”.

However, the study, published by JRSM Open, concluded that a lack of trust operated on multiple levels in perpetuating vaccine hesitancy, with a lack of trust in healthcare authorities, government and various media platforms present among most of the south Asian participant surveyed.

“Before Covid-19, the relationship of all our participants with vaccines seems to have been easy

and unproblematic. However,

in the Covid-19 era, it was clear from the outset that their concerns and hesitancies were specific to these particular vaccines.” said Dr Raj Chandok, lead author of the study and a GP working in Southall, London.

Researchers said the overemphasis by commentators on the terms ‘mis-’ and ‘dis-information’ encouraged binary scenarios – those who were consuming (correct) information and those who remained misinformed.

“This leaves very little space to entertain the idea there might be individuals neither pro- nor anti-Covid-19 vaccines, but instead are questioning many of the so-called indisputable ‘truths’ – and therefore not just one truth such as the safety of Covid-19 vaccines,” said Dr Chandok.