Around the world, millions of people are counting the days until a vaccine for covid-19 is found. At the same time, there are protests by those who do not want to be vaccinated.
For the ninth Sunday in a row, thousands of people are gathering in European cities to vent their anger over social distancing measures they see as a conspiracy to abrogate basic civil rights and set the stage for "forced vaccination" that will do more harm than the virus itself.
At the weekend protests in Berlin, one woman said the pandemic was a hoax concocted by the pharmaceutical industry.
"I would never get vaccinated. I didn't even get vaccinated against the flu, so I'm still alive."
The alliance of vaccination opponents, neo-Nazi provocateurs and esoteric hippies, which filled the squares in cities such as Berlin, Vienna and Zurich last Sunday, is starting to worry governments as they make plans for economic recovery and the fight against the coronavirus in the long term, writes "Observer".
Even before an effective vaccine against Covid-19 is produced, national leaders are faced with the dilemma of whether they should immunize as much of the population as possible, and do so as soon as possible, or mandatory vaccination risks emboldening a street movement already prone to conspiracy theories about pharmaceutical concerns and the authoritarian tendencies of their government?
Preliminary results from a trial conducted by the Vaccine Confidence Project and ORB International when the infection was still spreading rapidly in Europe in early April show that vaccine resistance is particularly high in countries that managed to avoid the worst of the pandemic.
In Switzerland, where immunologists suggested that mass vaccination should be carried out already in October, 20 percent of those surveyed said that they were not willing to be vaccinated. "Observer" writes that the sentiment regarding the vaccine is similar in Austria, where 18 respondents said they would refuse vaccination.
In Germany, where nine percent opposed vaccination in April, that figure may have risen because the virus has claimed fewer lives than other countries. A parallel survey by the University of Erfurt showed that the number of Germans who were asked whether they would get vaccinated against Covid-19 dropped from 79 percent in mid-April to 63 percent last week.
In the UK, where the survey was conducted on 6-7 In May, ten percent of respondents said they were not willing to get vaccinated.
While scientists predict that immunizing about 70 percent of the population could be enough to make the virus disappear, there is concern that a noisy minority could take control of the vaccination story, the Observer points out.
German Health Minister Heiko Maas jokingly advised the public to keep a distance of more than 1,5 meters from those who spread conspiracy theories, but it seems that the fear that the movement will not grow into a force like the PEGIDA protests against Angela Merkel's immigration policy is affecting decisions of the authorities in Berlin, according to the British newspaper.
Although some scientists are calling for mandatory vaccination against covid-19, the Minister of Health Jens Span said that he will advocate for a voluntary program, while the proposal to introduce an "immunity passport" for those who have been vaccinated or developed antibodies, has been withdrawn from the new "law on the pandemic" which was adopted in the Bundestag this month.
"There is a real fear of an alliance of esoteric leftists, the ultra-right and the Reichsberger movement," says Natalie Grams, a physician and writer whose narrower specialty is debunking claims about the effectiveness of alternative medicine.
"When it comes to people who strongly oppose vaccination, it is usually 2-4 percent of the population in Germany. But, with this alliance, you have a wider resistance among the population".
Grams says that in a situation where there is no vaccine but everyone is talking about it, the anti-vaccination movement has found "the perfect environment to flourish."
"Virologists consider the evidence and give somewhat conflicting advice, while major health bodies take weeks to formulate messages. Opponents of vaccines are taking advantage of this uncertainty."
"The Observer" writes that in France, attitudes against immunization are seen as a phenomenon of this millennium and are fueled by a wider distrust of the central government. On the other hand, in German-speaking countries, the aversion to vaccination programs dates back to the 19th century.
"In the first half of the 20th century, anti-vaccination attitudes were intertwined with anti-Semitism: The Third Reich was rife with conspiracy theories that portrayed vaccination programs as a Jewish plot to poison the German nation or to 'subjugate mankind to Jewish mammonism.'
Some historians believe that voluntary vaccination programs against covid-19 would not only be less politically risky, but also more effective in protecting the population from the coronavirus.
"When it comes to vaccination programs, the discussion is rarely about the disease itself, but about the relationship between the individual and the state," says historian Malte Thiessen.
"In Germany, it's a question with roots in the 19th century: Can the government force people to be healthy"?
A quarter of Americans doubt the vaccine
A quarter of Americans have little or no interest in a coronavirus vaccine, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed last Sunday. Some are concerned that the record speed at which the vaccine is tested could compromise safety.
While health experts say a vaccine is needed to get life back to normal, the trial highlighted a potential problem with trust in Donald Trump's administration, which is already under fire for its often contradictory safety guidelines during the pandemic.
About 36 percent of respondents said they would be less willing to get the vaccine if Trump said it was safe, compared with 14 percent who would be more interested.
More Americans responded that their attitudes would be strongly influenced by the Food and Drug Administration's guidelines or the results of studies showing that the vaccine is safe.
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