JABS: THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM

Isanka Perera critiques booster hesitancy as the Omicron variant threatens

Smallpox is a lethal disease that’s estimated to have claimed over 500 million lives in the last 100 years of its existence with a fatality rate of over 30 percent. Those who survived often lost their sight or had to live with scars for the rest of their lives.

Against this backdrop, one would think that British physician Edward Jenner’s discovery and the means to prevent the contagion would have been embraced with open arms. But it seems the public response at the time bore a close resemblance to the vaccine hesitancy we are witnessing today.

In spite of the resistance, vaccination campaigns were carried out throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Declaring it as the most profound public health success in history, the WHO certified the global eradication of smallpox in 1980.

The dire conditions we’ve been living through over the last two years have given us a glimpse of what it’s like to exist in a world scarred by virulent diseases. Government officials, public health experts and medical professionals repeatedly emphasise the importance of vaccines as they’re currently the best protection against the virus.

Despite some hiccups, the initial phase of Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 vaccination strategy has proved to be a success. Of the eligible population, over 16 million people have been vaccinated with the first dose while 85 percent of them have received the second dose as well.

However, the country seems to be grappling with an irrational hesitancy towards the booster dose – despite the availability of vaccines. As Mark Twain once said, history does not repeat itself but it often rhymes.

Vaccines are miracles fuelled by science and leave little room for doubt. When it comes to a communicable disease of the magnitude of COVID-19, additional jabs administered weeks, months or years after the primary dose are part and parcel of the immunisation process.

With the first dose, the immune system is primed to recognise and produce antibodies against the virus. However, there’s evidence that protection wanes over time and the immune system needs to be reminded that the culprit is still around, which is why a booster dose is needed to prolong protective immunity.

Meanwhile, the emphasis on booster shots has already prompted many countries to change their definition of being ‘fully vaccinated’ to include the booster doses.

Making this ordeal even more critical is the concern regarding variants such as Omicron. According to the WHO, Omicron has a growth advantage over the Delta variant with a doubling time of two to three days, which is evident in the rapid accele­ration of cases in many parts of the globe.

As the world collectively struggles to reach herd immunity by ensuring that a sufficient proportion of the population is protected, thereby mitigating its ongoing spread, those who aren’t fully inoculated not only risk con­tracting the virus themselves but also undermine the cumulative efforts of humanity’s fight against COVID-19.

It is easy to assume that vaccine hesitant people are set in their ways. Some people may be that way; but others who are on the brink of getting the booster dose have delayed doing so for various reasons – many among them may not have realised the urgency of doing so as yet.

While some experts suggest that the global eradication of COVID-19 is possible, others argue that the virus will become less pathogenic and stay with us for the foreseeable future. Come what may, the bottom line is that we all have an obli­gation to do our part in mitigating the spread of the virus.

So if you haven’t had your booster dose already, consider this to be a gentle reminder.