#BTColumn – Much anti-vax B.S.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

The anti-vaxxers have been spouting their hogwash on social media for the last several months. Now, as they take to the streets, it looks like that hogwash is being carefully orchestrated and manipulated in Barbados.

Most of the misinformation and conspiracy fantasies stem from online ultra-rightwing Trumpist groups like Q-anon, as well as from some loony alternative health entrepreneurs posing as experts.

Remember when the tobacco industry rolled out “experts” to show that smoking could not possibly cause cancer? I know that Trumpism has infected the Republican Party in the US, but now they seem to have infiltrated Barbados, braying through their magaphones. Surprising, since Trumpism is synonymous with white supremacy. Strange bedfellows.

Next thing, the organisers will be inviting crazy Marjorie Taylor Greene to Barbados to address them in Independence Square. After that, will they become anti-maskers (‘my body, my choice’)? I wonder whether the anti-vaxxers are now going to deny their children the vaccines administered under the routine immunisation programme, thus endangering their health and lives? I never thought otherwise intelligent Bajans would have bought into such a mishmash of bizarre conspiracy theories, deliberate misinformation, and rank political opportunism.

But it seems that some of us are allowing ourselves to be influenced by a small group of irresponsible idiots and have decided to endanger not only our own lives, but the decent prospects we had of eradicating the pandemic.

But then again, a friend of mine claims that the virus does not exist and that the reports of millions of deaths worldwide are just fake news. What astonishes me is that a reputable political party is supporting this nonsense.

Vaccines are the single most effective public health measure in history, saving millions of lives from diseases like measles, mumps and rubella, not to mention yellow fever, small pox and polio. As for COVID-19, there is lots of scientific evidence that the vaccines are effective and safe. Of course, like every single drug, they have side effects.

With billions of vaccines now administered, what have we learned? First and foremost, that they work exceptionally well: no vaccine is 100 per cent effective, but those developed for COVID-19 come very close. 99 per cent of the vaccinated avoid the disease and less than one per cent who contract it suffer any complications. In other words, the vast majority of deaths from COVID-19 now occur among the unvaccinated.

Some of the more preposterous lies circulating are that the vaccine makes you infertile, alters your DNA, and makes you magnetic. Another one is that it inserts a Microsoft chip into your brain, ensuring you hear Bill Gates and Melissa arguing all night long while you’re trying to sleep.

Another piece of misinformation is that these vaccines are not safe because they are approved only for emergency use.
Emergency Use Authorisation is a standard mechanism used by public health authorities to facilitate the availability and use of public health countermeasures during public health emergencies, such as the present pandemic.

It does not mean that they are not rigorously tested, safe and effective. Anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to deceive you. No doubt some of those hesitant about taking the vaccine do so for religious reasons or because they are genuinely confused by all the misinformation. But they are being exploited and manipulated for nefarious reasons.

Let me make something clear. I do not believe that anyone should be or can be forced to take the vaccine. At the same time, no one should be absolved from the consequences of refusing to be vaccinated during a pandemic. They are endangering the rest of us.

So if you are denied access to a privately organised event because you are not vaccinated, or you have to be constantly tested to ensure the safety of your co-workers, or you cannot travel because you are not vaccinated, or even your friends shun you, or if a family member is infected by you and dies, don’t whine. Accept the consequences of your decision.

I personally know libertarians who objected on principle to the mandatory use of a seat belt while driving a vehicle as an infringement of their personal freedom (‘my body, my choice’). No one can force you to use a seat belt.

But if you drive without buckling up you will have to accept the legal consequences of so doing if you are stopped by a police officer.

So, if the unvaccinated refuse to be vaccinated, they will have to accept the social, economic and legal consequences that this entails until the pandemic is over.

The public health of the community comes first.

Dr. Peter Laurie is a retired permanent secretary and head of the Foreign Service who once served as Barbados’ Ambassador to the United States.