World vaccinations: the beginning of the end of the pandemic

We know that this pandemic will not go away right now, but the vaccine is the beginning of the victory over this pandemic

Jakarta (ANTARA) – A series of hopeful developments have marked the final days of 2020 in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, a disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 corona virus which has damaged many aspects of life.

As of December 31, COVID-19 globally has caused more than 1.8 million lives, infected more than 83 million people, and damaged the economies of countries.

The COVID-19 vaccination has finally begun to materialize in several parts of the world after months of waiting, which are filled with people’s impatience to get out of the various forms and levels of social restrictions imposed by their respective governments in an effort to curb the spread of the corona virus.

Just a few days before 2020 closing the book, many countries – in Asia, Europe, and America – are able to vaccinate their population, mostly with vaccines made by Pfizer / BioNTech.

On December 30, Singapore injected the Pfizer vaccine among medical workers and made it one of the countries in Southeast Asia that has started mass vaccination.

Europe, a region of some 450 million people, on December 27 launched a major injection program in several countries, including Italy, France and Germany, with the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine.

The three countries are among the worst affected in Europe – and the world – in terms of infections and deaths from the corona virus.

Europe followed the United States and Canada, which had already started the inoculation movement in mid-December – with the Pfizer vaccine, as well as the UK. The US then also used Moderna to immunize its residents.

Britain itself became the first country in the world to use the Pfizer vaccine, namely in early December, but not the first country to hold a mass vaccination for its population.

Long before that, China – the first country to report the emergence of the coronavirus disease in December 2019, was also the first country in the world to inject a vaccine.

China has been inoculating the COVID vaccine among medical workers and state company employees since July – under its emergency use provisions.

The vaccinations also take place a month after the Chinese government began giving experimental vaccines to its military members.

It is unclear which vaccine to use, but China has five vaccine candidates in phase three clinical trials, including those developed by Sinovac Biotech and Sinopharm.

After China, Russia in early August approved the use of its vaccine, Sputnik V, although it has only just completed phase I and II human trials.

Amid criticism from various circles at home and abroad, Russia said Sputnik V was safe to use and capable of producing the antibodies needed to protect humans from the corona virus.

Shortly after the agreement was issued, President Vladimir Putin’s country began administering vaccines to people at high risk. At the same time, Russia launched the final stage of the trial extensively in its capital, Moscow.

In the Middle East region, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Israel became the first countries to initiate mass vaccinations, on December 16, December 17 and December 20, respectively. Everyone also uses Pfizer.

Shadows of Doubt and Anxiety

The availability of vaccines is not welcomed by some as a carrier of hope for the world community to return to normal life.

Some of the main questions that commonly cross the minds of many individuals include whether the vaccine is safe to use, is it effective in preventing exposure to the corona virus, what is the level of efficacy.

A number of Singaporeans are concerned about the possible side effects of the anti-corona vaccine. They argue that such a risk, however small, should not be taken given the city-state including its success in curbing a pandemic outbreak. The number of deaths due to the corona virus in Singapore is the smallest in the world.

As of the end of 2020, Singapore had reported a total of 58,599 COVID-19 with 29 deaths.

“Singapore is fine, I doubt that a vaccine will help,” Aishwarya Kris said as quoted by Reuters. The 40-year-old resident stated that he did not want to be vaccinated against COVID.

Singapore media The Straits Times in early December, from its poll, put forward the tendency that 48 percent of respondents said they would like an injection once a vaccine is available. Another 34 percent will wait up to six months to a year before being vaccinated.

A similar picture, among others, also emerged in Brazil. The results of a poll published by a survey institute in Brazil on December 12 showed that citizens who rejected China’s COVID-19 vaccine rose to 22 percent. Previously, this figure was recorded at only nine percent.

The survey shows that 73 percent of respondents plan to participate in vaccinations, five percent have yet to make a decision. In August, 89 percent of respondents who were willing to participate in the vaccination, three percent said they were still in doubt.

The increase in people’s resistance to Chinese-made vaccines is thought to be influenced by the attitude of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is skeptical of the anti-COVID-19 virus.

Bolsonaro, who has stated that he will not be vaccinated against corona, specifically expressed doubts about the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac with the Butantan Institute, a research institute under the auspices of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

A glimmer of hope

Even though there are still so many questions regarding vaccination, the availability of vaccines is considered by many people in the world as a blessing and hope to return to being able to live a normal life like before COVID-19 struck.

Europe, when on December 27 retirees and medical personnel queued up to start getting the first injection of the COVID-19 vaccine, saw the vaccine as a “weapon” against the pandemic.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who this month tested positive for the coronavirus and is languishing in quarantine on Christmas Eve, tweeted: “Now we have a weapon to fight the virus: a vaccine.”

“We know that this pandemic will not go away right now, but a vaccine is the beginning of a victory over this pandemic,” said Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

Leaders in various countries are among the first to have been injected to dispel doubts about the use of the anti-corona vaccine.

Among them are King of Bahrain Sheikh Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifah, US President-elect Joe Biden, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A number of other leaders, including Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, have also promised to be the first to be injected with the anti-corona vaccine.

Meanwhile, with the emergence of new variants of the corona virus in the UK and South Africa which have also recently been discovered in several countries, the homework for handling COVID-19 is certainly getting longer.

But at least for many like George Dyer, the 90-year-old among the first people in Britain to be injected with the Pfizer vaccine on December 8, vaccinations mean he can leave the house again after months of social distancing.

“I miss people … by being cooped up at home, we can’t meet people,” he told Sky News after receiving the injection in London.

In Italy, the first country in Europe to be severely affected by COVID-19, a nurse named Claudia Alivernini, as reported by Reuters, is one of the first medical workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

“This is the beginning of reaching the end … an exciting, historic moment,” he said.

Although a vaccine is available, experts warn that there is still a long way to go to end the COVID-19 pandemic.

Therefore, the basic protocol is still reminded as a mainstay in fighting the pandemic: wear a mask, keep your distance, and wash your hands.

Also read: TNI / Polri guard delivery of Phase II synovac vaccines

Also read: China has given conditional approval to vaccine marketing

Also read: Epidemiologist: Availability of vaccines does not mean neglecting health protocols

By Tia Mutiasari
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
COPYRIGHT © BETWEEN 2020

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