Daily Times

And then there were three.

After a myriad of scientific testing, clinical trials and government approvals, only three vaccines have the potential to be both effective and cost-effective in Pakistan’s battle against Covid-19. These are: AstraZeneca, Sputnik V and Sinopharm.

Ironically, the current Information Age has not been enough to safeguard against ‘information black holes’ in terms of public awareness. Pakistan’s government has gained some ground in bridging this gap, while ensuring equity and transparency in the distribution modality. Yet more needs to be done.

Pakistan has long demonstrated a recalcitrant attitude to inoculations in general and this shows no signs of abating. Back in 2019, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative found that Pakistan was “the only country with consistent barriers to preventing vaccinations”. More recently, according to a Gallup Pakistan poll at the beginning of this year, 49 percent of respondents said that they would refuse to be immunised against Covid. Thus the government must take stringent measures to change controllable variables, such as, religious extremism, political partisanship and misinformation.

One overarching factor behind vaccine resistance are the fallacies surrounding efficacy rates, which, in turn, determines the number of people willing to be inoculated. This is where transparency is needed. AstraZeneca, for example, has a 70-percent success rate, compared to more than 90 percent for the other two vaccines. Yet it still protects against hospitalisation and therefore remains crucial in the fight against Covid.

Another important piece of the vaccine puzzle pertains to distribution. The government has been tasked with devising a workable framework to inoculate a population of more than 200 million. The results have been mixed. It is morally imperative that the most vulnerable have access to the vaccine first —regardless of age — and that the waiting list prioritises risk over rank. Towards this end, the Pakistani state should look at the models adopted by Norway and Sweden, where equality, equity and uniformity are paramount.

In the meantime, there is still much to be done. In order to combat anti-vaccine sentiment and prevailing conspiracy theories, PEMRA (Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority) must play its part. Footage of politicians and religious leaders being immunised is a good place to start. In fact, bipartisan support for vaccines remains critical to getting the masses on board. Also, healthcare professionals — not politicians and business leaders —absolutely must take the lead in the vaccine discourse. On a practical level, Pakistan must introduce a secure web-based IT vaccine tracking system where citizens are provided with the latest information about about vaccination sites as well as time and location.

There is a poem about Covid that has been attributed to an unknown author. This line perfectly sums up the entire vaccine conundrum: “We are not all in the same boat, we are in the same storm, but not in the same boat.” Let us hope that all stakeholders are listening.

The writer attends Lahore Grammar School, Johar Town where he is Community Service Head. He is Director of Auxilium Feminae