‘Authorities’ failure to manage the pandemic is another reason behind vaccine hesitancy’

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

Click to read the article in Turkish

Amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) Pandemic Working Group has been posting a video series on "What we are curious about during the pandemic."

The 15th episode of the video series hosted Prof. Nilgün Toker, a political philosopher and a member of the TTB Pandemic Working Group.

Speaking about the vaccination efforts, Toker underlined that the reason behind the vaccine hesitancy in society is the failure of the government and the public institutions to manage the pandemic.

'Vaccination started late, vaccines compared'

Noting that there are several reasons behind vaccine hesitancy, Prof. Nilgün Toker listed these reasons briefly as follows:

"First of all, the vaccines came too late, which has made it harder to persuade the society, who was left alone during the pandemic.

"The second reason is the comparison made between the vaccines and the government's statements at the beginning of the process that the CoronaVac is better than the other vaccine sorts. This discourse has reduced the value of other vaccines in the eyes of society."

Prof. Nilgün Toker underlined that these two factors have led to an increase in the vaccine hesitancy. She further stressed that several factors such as fear, indifference and mistrust go hand in hand.

Right populist discourse: Another factor

Toker also noted that right populist governments speak in such a way that information and knowledge about all types of issues are rendered worthless and that it is no longer possible to differentiate between the right and wrong, which also leads to an increase in vaccine hesitancy.

According to Toker, the public authorities must address the society in a more determined tone. She said that there is a need for a policy to inform the public about vaccination and eliminate their concerns and fears.

Prof. Toker indicated that not getting vaccinated is not about freedom and that the notion of freedom is meaningful only when it is related to ethics and responsibility. According to Toker, anti-vaccination can be considered ideologically "choosing evil" or "doing evil" knowingly and willingly. (AÖ/SD)