Vaccine Hesitancy. Vaccine Types. Ingredients. Ivermectin Conundrum. Mix & Match. Variants.
In April 2020, when COVID-19 was proclaimed a pandemic, it jump-started the warp-speed global race to develop a vaccine. (According to estimates, there are more than 170 vaccines in trials.) The vaccine was to be the silver bullet in the war against COVID. But the months of waiting were punctuated by vaccine trial pauses and cautionary reports that fueled doubts, fears, and hesitancy. It delighted the anti-vaccination bloc who found a new vaccine to wage war on, which it is, at present, winning in various population sectors.
Vaccine hesitancy is a global health challenge. While vaccination is one of the most effective ways of avoiding disease—it prevents 2-3 million deaths a year, and a further 1.5 million can be avoided with improved global vaccination programs—vaccine hesitancy threatens to reverse gains achieved by vaccination programs.