“It’s better to take care that a problem does not happen than to have to solve the problem afterwards. It’s easier to stop something bad from happening in the first place than to fix the damage after it has happened. Thus, let’s take vaccines and save our world.”
Due to the recent launch of a drive against Anti-Vaxxers group by Facebook Company, the issue of anti-immunization propaganda is fueled in the country. Anti- Vaxxers means the group that are skeptical about vaccines and spread misinformation regarding it.
Infact, it has been noted in the data that after the rise of anti-vaccine misinformation, Polio has again been detected in India.
Vaccination is important. It has practically helped the Government bring down the mortality rate among children and adults. Vaccines are said to carry a network effect, meaning, it not just benefits the people who take them but rather affects all the people around them in a positive way.
There are many examples of vaccination missions carried out by governments and the world that have put an end to the spread of deadly diseases like Pulse Polio, smallpox, measles etc.
But there is still a small group of people who are against vaccines and create impediments on the path of Government when it comes to taking care of Public Health. Like William Tebb. He is a British based anti-vaccine activist. His works were debunked by the authorities but his anti-vaccine propaganda survived and spread throughout the world. This was the beginning of the modern Vaxxer movement.
In India, we have Jacob Vadakkanchery who calls himself a naturopath and spreads misinformation regarding vaccines. Though, this now seems a no problem but it can lead to millions of death if not dealt delicately.
Now, there is something called Herd immunity. It means when a large proportion of the community are vaccinated and have developed resistance towards the disease than the left few people have developed herd immunity. It means they are immune to disease because of living with the people who are already immune.
However, the effect of herd immunity is at risk because of the misinformations spread by the anti- vaxxers group. Infact, due to international relations and travels across continents, the entire world’s health is at risk if even a single country or continent falls prey to the web of anti- vaxxers momentment. Price will be paid in blood.
Atleast, now, we in India can adopt a policy like Kerala by making vaccines compulsory for taking admission in schools or run more programmes like CRS Congenital Rubella Syndrome to ensure the good health and well being of the citizens.
At last, vaccines cannot be eliminated. They have helped us gain victory over many deadly diseases in centuries. We must curb the actions of these groups and commit to spread true results that are found after consistent medical research.
References:
https://www.englishclub.com/ref/esl/Sayings/P/Prevention_is_better_than_cure_584.php
https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/upsc-notes-pdf/
https://pixabay.com/photos/black-cat-green-eyes-feral-rescue-4099373/
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Prerna 🙂
