Although it has been more than three years since the first positive case of Corona (Covid-19) was recorded in Afghanistan, a number of citizens in the centre and districts of Herat still believe in rumours and do not take health advice about this virus seriously.
The Covid-19 vaccine campaign started on February 15, 2023 (11/26/1401) in Herat province, and the American “Johnson” type vaccine was injected into the residents of Herat.
The health officials in Herat province said in a conversation with Killid that in the new round, 386,000 people over the age of 18 should have been vaccinated, but about 355,000 people received the Corona vaccine and the rest refused to get the vaccine.
Disbelief in vaccines
Many Herat residents do not believe in the Corona vaccine and say that Corona is a project by some countries launched to scare people.
Nazir Ahmad Rasouli, one of the vaccinators, said that people did not welcome the Corona vaccination campaign. Rasouli added that negative advertisements have been published on social media as if there is no Coronavirus, and these advertisements have made people distrust the Corona vaccine.
“Rumors make people distrustful of the corona vaccine and people are very afraid of the symptoms after the injection of the vaccine and they look for excuses to inject it.”
This round of the corona vaccination campaign was held mosque to mosque by the Public Health in Herat province for 20 days.
Abdullah Ahmadi, another corona vaccinator in Herat, says that in the recent round of corona vaccination, people’s interest in the corona vaccination had decreased compared to the first round.
“During the previous round of the Corona vaccine, we gave people soap after the vaccination. The people were more daring because there were more Corona patients. But in this period, the people were less daring and were not very interested in the vaccine.”
According to him, there are many rumours about Covid-19 and the vaccinators waited two to three days for people to come for receiving the Corona vaccine, during the implementation of the Corona vaccine in some mosques.
Also, Faiq Herawi, a resident of Herat, says that he did not vaccinate himself because the number of Corona patients has decreased and this virus no longer threatens people’s lives.
“The issue of Corona disease and its dangers has decreased and it is not very serious now. My body’s resistance is also high enough to be able to resist this disease.”
Yama Barekzai, another resident of Herat, says that the Corona vaccine was available for him, but he refused the vaccine due to his fear of fever after the vaccine and based on his confidence in his body’s resistance.
“I was afraid of the post-vaccination state where we face fever, trembling, and pain. I didn’t get the vaccine because of my busy schedule.”
Facebook Rumours
The Department of Public Health of Herat Province reports that about 355 thousand people have been vaccinated, but many people have not received the Covid-19 vaccine yet due to various reasons.
A number of Herat residents do not believe in the Corona vaccine and have published their disbelief through Facebook.
In addition to disbelief in the Covid-19 vaccine, some people also raise rumours that the Corona vaccine has side effects, and some call it ineffective and carcinogenic.
Mohammad Hussaini, one of the residents of Herat Province, commented on a Facebook post of Radio Killid: “I haven’t been vaccinated yet, because when there is God, what is Corona?”
Noor Mohammad Karimi, another resident of Herat province, expresses his opinion in a comment: “I did not get the Corona vaccine, because others who were vaccinated got infected with Covid-19 again.”
Also, Malika Saddat, in addition to disbelief in the Covid-19 vaccine, is also worried about the lack of proper training for vaccinators. She says: “If the Corona vaccine does not cause harm to people, incorrect implementation of that will also cause harm to people.”
Rumours are not seen only in social networks, but also practically, that a large number of people have given up on vaccines.
Ali Ahmadi, one of the residents of Herat, says that in reality there is no Coronavirus and that is why he did not get vaccinated.
“Since the news of Corona and its casualties were reported in the media, I didn’t believe it. Several rounds of vaccination came to Herat, I don’t trust the vaccine too and I didn’t vaccinate.”
Despite all this, Dr Fazluddin Fayez, the head of the Corona hospital in Herat, said in a conversation with Killid that a number of people did not believe in Corona and its vaccine, but most of them get infected with Covid-19 and were hospitalized.
The need for vaccination
Health experts in Herat, emphasize considering health recommendations and say that it’s very important to implement the vaccine in order to prevent people get infected with the Coronavirus.
Dr Fazluddin Fayez, head of the Covid-19 hospital, said that the virus is still present in Afghanistan, but its positive cases have decreased.
Mr Fayez says that people should not believe the rumours that are published on social media, but they should go to health centres and vaccinate themselves.
“People should pay attention to the instructions of the Ministry of Public Health. They should not listen to the words of any unprofessional person. Because they are not trustworthy and we should ignore them.”
According to him, most of the time, rumours have caused people not to receive the vaccine, and these rumours existed in the first and second waves as well.
This health official said that vaccination is a very suitable way to prevent infectious diseases, especially Covid-19.
“The vaccine is recommended by the Ministry of Public Health and the World Health Organization (WHO). Because it has been proven that the vaccine has good effects in preventing people from getting infected with the Coronavirus.”
Meanwhile, a number of people who have received the Covid-19 vaccine also emphasize that people should not pay attention to rumours and deny the vaccination.
Arbab Nisar, a resident of Herat who has received two rounds of the Covid-19 vaccine, says to Killid: “This is the third round that I have received the Corona vaccine and I stayed safe from getting infected to Coronavirus. We saw many young people who died because of Covid-19.”
Also, Dr Abdulwahid Rahmani, a vaccination official in Herat said that although the Corona vaccination campaign has ended in Herat province, 30 health centres are still running in the city and districts.
Mr Rahmani added that people who paid attention to rumours, can go to mobile Covid-19 vaccination centres and get vaccinated.
“We have 30 fixed Corona vaccination centres in the city and districts. Besides them, 10 mobile teams go from mosque to mosque and inject the vaccine into people.”
Doctors advise that the time of false rumours about the Covid-19 vaccine is over and people should get vaccinated.
Vaccination officials said that about 1.8 million people over the age of 18 received the Corona vaccine in Herat province for 2 years.
According to the official statistics of the Ministry of Public Health of Afghanistan, since the first Covid-19 case was registered in Herat on February 2, 2020 (12/5/1398) about 180 thousand Afghans have been infected with this virus, and about 8000 of them have lost their lives.
Currently, various Coronavirus vaccines, including SinoPharm and Cenovac, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna vaccines are produced in different countries and approved by the World Health Organization.
Translated by: Sadaf Yarmal
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