‘Unvaccinated people constituted 87% of COVID-19 deaths in July’

AMMAN — After almost a year and a half of COVID-19, Jordanians’ acceptance and attitudes towards vaccines still vary.

The National Centre for Security and Crisis Management (NCSCM) published on Sunday the local pandemic updates.  The figures showed that 87 per cent of coronavirus deaths in Jordan during July were among unvaccinated individuals.

COVID-19 prevalence rate increased from less than one to 1.35 per day, the centre added. The centre also noted that more than 90 per cent of coronavirus infections are from the highly contagious Delta variant.

Nada Omar, a Jordanian in her early 40s, told The Jordan Times on Sunday that she believes vaccines are safe and should be taken.

Omar added that in order to keep the community healthy amid the ongoing pandemic one must take the vaccine.

“If we do nothing and by that I mean do not get vaccinated, the virus will for sure continue to spread and will not be controlled,” Omar said.

Omar Hani, a medical student, strongly agreed with Nada Omar’s opinion, pointing out that vaccine distribution is equal in the Kingdom and every person has access to them.

“Low vaccination rates may lead to the spread of new variants,” said Hani, advising people who did not get vaccinated to read more about the vaccine's importance.

However, many Jordanians still have doubts about vaccine safety.

Biljana R. who is a Jordanian mother of three, said that she is planning on getting the vaccine at the end of 2021. “Maybe then, new studies will be published on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines and I will be convinced,” she said.

Sereen Alami, a young university student, said she does not go outside that much so for the time being she will not take the vaccine.

The Health Ministry has continuously stated that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and dispelled rumours and misinformation surrounding the vaccines.

The current population of Jordan is 10,955,937, according to the Department of Statistics.

According to a joint statement issued by the Prime Ministry and the Ministry of Health on Sunday, the total number of people who received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine has reached 3,004,698, while 2,260,376 got their second shot.

The number of people who have registered on the vaccination platform has reached 3,593,482.