SUSPICION runs deep among certain quarters in our society and developed countries about the Covid-19 vaccination.
Despite the governments' assurances, these anti-vaxxers are resisting vaccination, and instead influencing people to wait and see until the vaccines are proven safe.
The anti-vaxxers have raised questions — that the vaccines came out too fast, pharmaceutical companies had not studied them for long enough, these firms might have removed "barriers" to produce them faster — which fuelled suspicions about the vaccines' safety and effectiveness.
They also asked what could happen if the virus mutated further. Until these are answered to their satisfaction, they say they have no plans to get inoculated.
A 60-year-old friend, who told me about the deaths of 26 nursing home occupants in Norway, said: "I'm not saying never. I'm just saying not now."
Some said it is more of trust issues than the safety of the vaccines. They wonder if it is a "money thing" as these are companies trying to force the products on everyone.
They questioned whether the firms are truly doing it for the people or trying to make money out of human misery. Worse still, there have been misleading news that brought about vaccine hesitancy.
Some feared that the vaccines might contain "live virus", as there was a video that went viral of a woman who, after receiving the vaccine, claimed that she was paralysed waist down.
Things get weirder with one conspiracy theory alleging the vaccines are part of a population control mechanism by the World Health Organisation. Then, there is a Pakistani cleric who alleged that Jews, in cahoots with global elites, had planned to insert mind-control nanochips in the vaccines.
Many Muslims are worried about the vaccines' halal status as they may contain ingredients derived from pork.
The Muslim Consumer Organisation Malaysia (PPIM), meanwhile, had expressed concern about the safety of Pfizer Inc's Covid-19 mRNA vaccine.
While stressing that PPIM members are not anti-vaxxers, its chief, Datuk Nadzim Johan, said their worries stemmed from the non-disclosure of the vaccine's safety, especially its long-term side effects, besides its ultra-sensitive and highly unstable nature.
Citing a finding by the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nadzim said clinical tests had found that the allergic reactions to the vaccine were nine times worse than flu vaccines.
While it is good that PPIM is keeping a close watch on the issue, I'm sure vaccine producers will adhere to the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency's requests by providing all clinical trial data.
Since there is hesitancy, doubt, fear and suspicion in some people about Covid-19 vaccines, how do we convince the public that these are safe?
It appears that vaccine hesitancy is due to lack of information and trust. Despite the government's assurances about Covid-19 vaccines, which include repeated television announcements by Special Adviser to the Prime Minister on Public Health Tan Sri Dr Jemilah Mahmood, many people are still hesitant to get inoculated, with some cynically telling their friends and relatives: "It's not that I don't trust the vaccines, but let's wait and see what happens to the people who will get their shots first."
Since efforts to build trust in public institutions, such as the Health Ministry, have been made, we need more sound bites, including building a more credible perception of the vaccines' safety and effectiveness.
Hence it is good to ensure that politicians from both sides of the divide, officials and prominent figures, are among the first to be vaccinated.
Leading by example, the prime minister would be among the first to be immunised when the National Immunisation Plan gets underway by the end of this month.
The authorities must boost public awareness of vaccine development and production, as well as their importance during a pandemic, and at the same, debunk myths. They must explain that the vaccines will not make the virus disappear since it is already too wide spread.
They should also tell the public that the vaccines could prevent its spread and reduce its severity.
The writer, a former NST journalist, is a film scriptwriter whose penchant is finding new food haunts