Debunking misinformation key to tackle vaccine hesitancy — experts

AMMAN — Public health experts reassure vaccine- hesitant people of the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.

“After having given over 8 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines globally, the vaccines have proven their safety and effectiveness in reducing COVID-19 mortality and severity, said representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Jordan Jamila Al Rabi.

She added that unvaccinated persons are 10-17 times more likely to enter hospital when contracting the virus, in addition to being 10 times more likely to die from COVID-19, when compared with persons who have been fully vaccinated.

“In Jordan, 82 per cent of cases admitted to hospitals and 87 per cent of mortality rate were among unvaccinated individuals,” she added.

In an interview on Sunday, Mohammad Odeh, a Jordanian general practitioner told The Jordan Times that there are still a significant number of people who are wary about getting the second dose.

 “The best way to address vaccine hesitancy, would be by understanding their concerns and countering misinformation with facts,” Odeh said.

The vaccines are administered in two doses, and the second dose is significantly important and supplemental.

“The number of people getting the second doses is currently heading to a positive direction,” he added.

Mahmoud Bilal, a Jordanian physician, said on Sunday that the second dose acts as a booster.

“More and more people are getting comfortable with the vaccination idea, because now there are more studies and research that prove their safety,” Bilal said.

Alaa Rateb, a Jordanian who skipped her second COVID-19 dose, told The Jordan Times that “after I took the first shot I felt there is no need to take the second, because I felt that I am sufficiently protected”.

Rateb said that now she is planning on getting the second dose, because many places in Amman only allow persons who have been fully vaccinated to enter.