Breaking the communication barrier-an approach towards building trust in COVID-19 vaccine

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Ms. Sara Ahmad, a 4^th year MBBS student at University Medical and Dental College Faisalabad. She is affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writers and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.

From the start of coronavirus infections disease (Covid19) pandemic, COVID-19 vaccine have been talk of the town.With the launch of vaccine a-lot of myths also started to propagate among the masses resulting in reluctance towards getting vaccinated. The majority share of this reluctance is also based on fear of the unknown. COVID-19 vaccine is a newly-created vaccine and lack of knowledge regarding possible effects eventuate people’s strong feelings towards it.

Lack of communication from authorities and enforcement of vaccines with laws make people believe that the truth about vaccines being concealed from them. People lack proper guidance and knowledge in regards to the COVID-19 vaccine and have been heavily relying on fake conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories such as vaccines implanting a controlling chip or causing infertility need to be destroyed by scientific evidence.

Scientific education in an understandable language from doctors can break the barriers of hesitation for covid vaccine. But this can’t be done by doctors alone.Furthermore, people are more likely to follow advice coming from the members of their own community. Hence, educated people of different communities need to take part in communicating and helping their own community comprehend the benefits of getting vaccinated. Along with community participation, company leaders from different sectors can assist in educating their employees and break the false notions born from absence of effective communication.

Proper guidance regarding public health benefits of vaccines needs to be efficiently conveyed. Leaders and people of high regard in the society can help set an example by getting themselves vaccinated. Display of advertisements on television or sending them via text message from the government’s side can help people appreciate the significance of getting vaccinated. Arrangement of awareness seminars and digital print media also needs to be involved. In this world of technology, running social media campaigns and involving influencers and celebrities to help spread a positive word about covid vaccine can have a fruitful impact.Getting vaccinations needs to be made a trend, so steadily people start to follow it.

General population’s concerns and issues regarding vaccination need to be addressed properly with the provision of appropriate information and the possible solutions. Colleges and universities can play a vital role in guiding students to the importance of getting vaccinated. Encouragement of vaccination by teachers and staff members and giving students credible and appropriate information can help improve their approach towards vaccination.

In the end I would like to conclude that we need to make people understand that vaccines are tested clinically and they are our only hope towards getting a normal future and they should get vaccinated to protect themselves and their loved ones.

About the author

This article is written by Ms. Sara Ahmad, 4^th year MBBS student at University Medical and Dental College Faisalabad.Being a medical student she has a keen interest in writing about the problems persisting in healthcare and giving possible solutions.