Essay: Vaccine hesitancy is one of the greatest threats to global health – and the pandemic has made it worse
In an article first published on The Conversation, SIMON NICHOLAS WILLIAMS, a lecturer in psychology at Swansea University, looks at the growing problem of vaccine hesitancy…
Essay: COVID has highlighted the connection between spirituality and vaccine scepticism
In an article first published on The Conversation, TAMAS LESTAR, of the University of Winchester, looks at the “strong correlation” between spirituality and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy…
“Saving lives”: Secret vaccinations help Zimbabwe mothers protect children
FARAI MUTSAKA, of Associated Press, reports on efforts to vaccine children against a deadly measles outbreak amid opposition from some religious groups…
COVID-19 vaccines: Could Novavax win over some religious sceptics?
Novavax’s CEO has framed his company’s vaccine as an alternative for those who object to the use of fetal cell lines in the development of existing popular vaccines. JACK JENKINS, of Religion News Service, reports…
Pope on COVID vaccines says healthcare a “moral obligation”
Rome, ItalyAP Pope Francis suggested Monday that getting vaccinated against the coronavirus was a “moral obligation” and denounced how people had been swayed by “baseless information” to refuse one of the most effective measures to save lives during the pandemic. Francis used some of his strongest words yet calling for people to get vaccinated in […]
In eastern Germany, pastors push for shots despite protests
Chemnitz, GermanyAP The pastor opened the wrought-iron doors of St Petri Church in the German city of Chemnitz and sighed with relief when he saw the long line of people waiting in the cold for shots against the coronavirus. Together with the parish council, Rev Christoph Herbst had invited in a relief organisation and volunteer […]
Essay: Just 1.7 per cent of people in PNG are vaccinated against COVID. Why is resistance so fierce?
In an article first published on The Conversation, FRASER MACDONALD, a senior lecturer in anthropology at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, looks at what factors, including religious beliefs, are hampering Papua New Guinea’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout…
Uphill struggle: Russia counts cost of missteps, vaccine refusals as COVID tide keeps rising
As the world passes five million deaths from COVID-19, POLINA NIKOLSKAYA and MAXIM SHEMETOV, of Reuters, report from the Russian city of Oryol…
The Long Read: Gender gap emerges in Africa’s vaccines
KRISTA LARSON and MARIA CHENG, of Associated Press, report on how vaccine hesitancy, including among women of childbearing age, is leading to a stark gender disparity resulting in African women being the least vaccinated population in the world…
Regret and defiance in Europe’s vaccine-shy east as COVID-19 rages
Riga, Latvia/Sofia, Bulgaria Reuters As Latvia goes into lockdown and hospitals in Bulgaria and Romania buckle under a COVID-19 surge while Poland sells surplus vaccine doses, many central and eastern Europeans are torn between defiance and regret over not getting inoculated. The region has the European Union’s lowest vaccination rates, an unwelcome distinction in which both […]